The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) recently issued OIG Advisory Opinion 26-16, a favorable opinion addressing a health center’s “food-as-medicine” program. The program provides eligible low-income patients with certain chronic conditions free produce boxes or healthy-food vouchers, together with nutrition counseling, health assessments, laboratory testing, and related clinical services. 

In the opinion, OIG concluded that the arrangement implicates both the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) because the free food benefits constitute remuneration and are connected to federally reimbursable healthcare services. Nevertheless, OIG determined that the arrangement presented a sufficiently low risk of fraud and abuse and stated that it would not impose administrative sanctions under the specific facts presented. 

Key Factors Supporting the Favorable Opinion

OIG emphasized several features of the program that mitigated fraud-and-abuse concerns:

• The program was designed to support disease management and improve patient outcomes through access to healthy food. 
• Eligibility was limited to patients with specified chronic conditions and demonstrated financial need. 
• The food benefits were limited in duration and value. 
• Participants received coordinated clinical services, including nutrition counseling and individualized care planning. 
• Safeguards limited voucher use to approved healthy food purchases and included monitoring and oversight mechanisms. 

Although OIG found that the arrangement did not qualify for the statutory financial-need exception to the Beneficiary Inducements CMP because the food benefits were tied to other reimbursable services, OIG nevertheless exercised its enforcement discretion and declined to impose sanctions. 

Significance for Safety Net Providers

The opinion provides important insight into OIG’s approach to innovative programs that address social determinants of health. For community health centers and other safety net providers considering nutrition-support initiatives, the opinion suggests that programs are more likely to receive favorable treatment when they:

• Have clear clinical objectives;
• Target patients with identified health needs;
• Incorporate financial-need screening where appropriate;
• Include meaningful clinical oversight and care management; and
• Employ safeguards designed to prevent misuse and inappropriate inducements. 

Takeaway

While advisory opinions are binding only on the requesting party and cannot be relied upon by other organizations, OIG Advisory Opinion 26-16 offers a valuable roadmap for structuring food-as-medicine programs. This appears to be the first published OIG advisory opinion directly addressing a provider-sponsored food-as-medicine program, making it a potentially significant development for healthcare organizations exploring nutrition-based interventions as part of population health strategies.

Join us August 4, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET for our webinar, OIG’s First Food-as-Medicine Advisory Opinion: Key Compliance Lessons, where we will discuss the opinion’s implications for health centers developing or expanding food-as-medicine programs.

Feldesman’s Health Care attorneys will continue to follow updates to food-as-medicine programs. If you have any questions, please contact Feldesman Partner Adam J. Falcone.