An OIG exclusionbars an individual or entity from federal healthcare programs — no Medicare or Medicaid payment for anything they provide, order, or prescribe. The OIG's public List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) holds 83,001 active exclusions. Screening the providers, contractors, and vendors you bill federal programs for against it is standard healthcare compliance practice.
What an OIG exclusion is
The U.S. HHS Office of Inspector General has the authority to exclude individuals and entities from all federal healthcare programs. The effect is financial and total: while a party is excluded, no federal program will pay for any item or service that party furnishes, orders, or prescribes — and that bar reaches indirect payment too, such as an excluded person working for a billing provider.
Exclusion is an administrative action, not a criminal sentence, though it often follows a conviction. It is the single most consequential program-integrity status a provider can carry, which is why payers, hospitals, and staffing firms check the list before they submit claims and on an ongoing basis.
What the LEIE is
The List of Excluded Individuals/Entities is the OIG's public registry of every party currently excluded. The OIG refreshes it monthly and publishes it as a free downloadable file. Each record carries the excluded party's name, the exclusion type, the statutory basis, and — where available — an NPI and address. The current snapshot holds 83,001 active exclusions: 79,605 individuals and 3,396 entities.
Mandatory vs. permissive exclusion
Required by law for serious offenses — healthcare-fraud convictions, patient abuse or neglect, felony drug diversion. Carry statutory minimum terms.
43,005 in the current file
At the OIG's discretion for a broader range of conduct — misdemeanor convictions, license loss, default on health education loans, and more.
39,747 in the current file
What exclusion means in practice
For the excluded party, exclusion ends federal-program billing. For a billing organization, it creates liability: billing a federal program for an excluded person's items or services — even indirectly, even unknowingly — can trigger civil monetary penalties and overpayment recovery. That is why exclusion screening is a continuous obligation, not a one-time check at onboarding, and why it extends to contractors, vendors, and ordering physicians.
The exclusion list by the numbers
Figures are aggregate counts from the current LEIE snapshot. Fonteum does not characterize any individual beyond the public OIG record.
Check the exclusion list
Search the full OIG LEIE, or cross-check a provider's NPI against the LEIE, SAM.gov, and state Medicaid exclusion lists at once — each result traced to its source and snapshot date. This is a screening aid, not a credentialing or legal certification.
Federal sanctions list →Frequently asked questions
- What is an OIG exclusion?
- An OIG exclusion is a bar imposed by the U.S. HHS Office of Inspector General that prevents an individual or entity from participating in federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. While excluded, no federal program will pay for any item or service the person furnishes, orders, or prescribes — directly or indirectly.
- What is the OIG LEIE?
- The LEIE — List of Excluded Individuals/Entities — is the OIG's public registry of everyone currently excluded from federal healthcare programs. The OIG updates it monthly. The current snapshot holds 83,001 active exclusions: 79,605 individuals and 3,396 entities.
- What is the difference between mandatory and permissive exclusion?
- Mandatory exclusions (under Section 1128(a) of the Social Security Act) are required by law for serious offenses such as healthcare-fraud convictions, patient abuse, or felony drug diversion, and carry minimum terms. Permissive exclusions (Section 1128(b)) are at the OIG's discretion for a broader range of conduct. The current file holds 43,005 mandatory and 39,747 permissive exclusions.
- What does it mean to be excluded from Medicare?
- It means no federal healthcare program will pay for anything the excluded party provides, orders, or prescribes, and billing organizations face civil monetary penalties if they bill federal programs for an excluded person's work. Exclusion is why billing organizations and payers screen the providers and contractors they bill for against the LEIE before and during the billing relationship.
- Can an OIG exclusion be removed?
- Exclusion is not always permanent. Most exclusions carry a defined term, after which the individual or entity may apply to the OIG for reinstatement; reinstatement is not automatic and must be granted. Some exclusions are indefinite, tied to the loss of a license. The LEIE reflects only parties currently excluded.
- How do I check the OIG exclusion list?
- The OIG publishes the LEIE for free, and screening against it is standard healthcare compliance practice. Fonteum publishes the full list as a source-stamped dataset and an exclusion search, and cross-checks a provider's NPI against the LEIE, SAM.gov, and state Medicaid lists. 8,551 LEIE records carry an NPI, which allows exact-identifier matching; the rest are name-and-address keyed.
Related
- The complete federal sanctions list — every active OIG exclusion by state, type, and statutory basis, source-traced.
- How to screen for exclusions — the OIG, SAM.gov, and state Medicaid lists, and how often to re-check.
- LEIE glossary entry — the quick-reference definition and related terms.
- OIG exclusion glossary entry — statutory authority and the screening obligation in brief.
- NPI lookup tool — returns NPPES identity, CMS enrollment, and exclusion status for any provider.