Health Providers DB includes daily updated exclusions from the General Services Administration (GSA) System for Award Management (SAM).
Avoid potential Civil Monetary Penalties (CMP) by automating the monitoring of your employees and vendors against the HHS-OIG LEIE, GSA-SAM, and all State Medicaid Exclusion Lists, as well as the FDA Clinical Investigators—Disqualification Proceedings and FDA Debarment Lists.
An excluded individual or entity cannot receive federal contracts, certain subcontracts, or financial and non-financial assistance and benefits.
Awarding officials must check the SAM exclusions list to see if an exclusion exists for your entity.
Per 42 CFR Part §455.436 — Federal database checks, State Medicaid agencies must comply with the following regulations:
(a) Confirm the identity and determine the exclusion status of providers and any person with an ownership or control interest or who is an agent or managing employee of the provider through routine checks of Federal databases.
(b) Check the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE), the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) (now the System for Award Management (SAM)), and any such other databases as the Secretary may prescribe.
(c)(1) Consult appropriate databases to confirm identity upon enrollment and re-enrollment; and
(c)(2) Check the LEIE and EPLS (now SAM) no less frequently than monthly.
Healthcare organizations must screen new hires and regularly monitor current employees, as well as individuals and entities they do business with, to avoid potential Civil Monetary Penalties.
This includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals interacting with patients and federal healthcare programs like Medicare or Medicaid.
Even if someone isn’t directly providing care, they might still be involved in billing, patient records, or managing payments from federal programs. These roles are critical, and OIG exclusion checks should apply here.
Think of anyone supplying medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, or services to a healthcare organization. Just because someone isn’t a full-time employee doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be checked. They must pass an OIG background check if they provide goods or services involving federal funds.
Volunteers can be involved with patients or sensitive healthcare operations in specific settings. While not always required, screening volunteers can help ensure the organization maintains compliance with federal regulations.
About System for Award Management
The System for Award Management (SAM) SAM.gov is the official website of the U.S. Government. The site is used to:
- Register to do business with the U.S. Government.
- Update, renew, or check the status of your entity registration.
- Search for entity registration and exclusion records.
- Search for assistance listings (formerly CFDA.gov), wage determinations (formerly WDOL.gov), contract opportunities (formerly FBO.gov), and contract data reports (formerly part of FPDS.gov).
- View and submit BioPreferred and Service Contract Reports.
- Access publicly available award data via data extracts and system accounts.
SAM.gov does not have the authority to penalize an organization as the HHS OIG does; instead, it is a procurement repository.
If an organization is debarred, it might not mean you cannot do business with them. Always contact the issuing Agency if you have questions about an exclusion record.
If your organization does not require your vendor to be GSA approved, nor is it being reimbursed through federal program dollars, the debarment may not affect your contract (your legal counsel must review this).
The SAM Data Collected
The Health Providers DB includes the following SAM exclusion list database details. Links to the Exclusion data are provided for reference and research.
Website: https://sam.gov/
Exclusion List: https://sam.gov/data-services/Exclusions/Public%20V2?privacy=Public
File Format: CSV
The SAM.gov website requires a login to download the file.
When an Entity is Reinstated, they are removed from the list.
The SAM Data Dictionary
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the entity being excluded (not applicable for Individual exclusions). |
| Prefix | The prefix for the actual name of a person being excluded (applicable for Individual exclusions only). |
| First | The first name for the actual name of a person being excluded (applicable for Individual exclusions only). |
| Middle | The second line is the excluded entity’s primary address. |
| Last | The last name for the actual name of a person being excluded (applicable for Individual exclusions only). |
| Suffix | The suffix for the actual name of a person being excluded (applicable for Individual exclusions only). |
| Address 1 | The first line of the excluded entity’s primary address. |
| Address 2 | This flag indicates whether the Business Name and Physical Address are sourced from EVS or a Prior provider. |
| Address 3 | Address line 3 of the exclusion’s primary address. |
| Address 4 | Address line 4 of the exclusion’s primary address. |
| City | The City name of the excluded entity’s primary address. |
| State / Province | The State or Province two-character abbreviation of the excluded entity’s primary address. |
| Country | The Country for the excluded entity’s primary address. |
| Zip Code | The ZIP or Postal Code for the excluded entity’s primary address. |
| Open Data Flag | Identifies the legacy Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) Cause & Treatment (CT) Code associated with the exclusion. CT Codes were replayed using the Exclusion Type in SAM. Exclusions created after August 2012 will not have CT Codes. They will only have Exclusion Types. |
| Unique Entity ID | Unique identifier of a specific excluded entity. It is 12- character alpha-numeric. Example: F847A1795DE4 |
| Exclusion Program | Identifies the Agency that created the exclusion. |
| Excluding Agency | Identifies if the exclusion is Reciprocal, Nonreciprocal, or Procurement. The value will always be Reciprocal for any exclusion record created on or after August 25, 1995. |
| CT Code | Identifies the date the exclusion will be terminated. If “Indefinite” is in this field, there is no set date for when the exclusion will terminate. Format: MM/DD/YYYY or Indefinite |
| Exclusion Type | Identifies the Agency that created the exclusion. |
| Additional Comments | This field provides the Agency with the exclusion space to enter additional information as necessary. |
| Active Date | Identifies the date the exclusion went active. Format: MM/DD/YYYY |
| Termination Date | Identifies other names/aliases with which the excluded entity has been identified. |
| Cross-Reference | The internal number used by SAM to identify exclusion records. Since only Firm and SED exclusion records are required to have a Unique Entity ID, SAM needed a way to track exclusion records of other Classification Types uniquely. |
| SAM Number | The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is associated with the exclusion. Healthcare providers acquire their unique 10-digit NPIs from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to identify themselves in a standard way throughout their industry. |
| NPI | The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is associated with the exclusion. Healthcare providers acquire their unique 10-digit NPIs from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to identify themselves in a standard way throughout their industry. |
| Creation Date | Identifies the date the exclusion was created in SAM. Format: MM/DD/YYYY |