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LEIE vs. SAM: what's the difference?

Reviewed against the source · HHS Office of Inspector General, SAM.gov

The LEIE is HHS-OIG's list of individuals and entities excluded from Medicare, Medicaid and other Federal health care programs; the SAM.gov exclusions list covers federal contracting and federal financial assistance across all agencies, not just health care. Both are federal and public, and each comes from a different authority.

Side by side

  • LEIE — maintained by HHS-OIG. Covers Medicare, Medicaid and other Federal health care programs specifically. HHS-OIG's FAQ states both versions of the LEIE are generally updated by the middle of each month.
  • SAM exclusions — operated by the General Services Administration, with exclusion records entered by the federal agencies that take the action (FAR 9.404). Covers federal contracting and federal financial assistance broadly, not just health care.

Does a clear result on one list mean I'm clear on the other?

No. A person or firm can appear on one list, both, or neither, so being clear of one is not evidence about the other. CFExclusion checks both in a single search rather than requiring two separate lookups.

Sources

Where this page says “our characterisation,” “our reasoning,” or “we measured,” the statement is CFExclusion's own rather than a government source's. CFExclusion is a private service and is not affiliated with HHS, OIG, CMS, or SAM.gov.

Check a name

Looking for a specific name? Search the HHS-OIG LEIE, SAM.gov exclusions, and Medicaid exclusion lists from 41 states — free, with no signup for your first 3 searches a day.

Adding a state or NPI lets us confirm a match with more confidence.

A $25 report turns that search into a dated, signed record: proof this name was checked against all 43 sources — HHS-OIG LEIE, SAM.gov, and 41 state Medicaid lists — on a specific date, clear or not. See a sample report →

A single check is a snapshot: HHS-OIG replaces the LEIE around the middle of every month, so a result from last month no longer reflects who's on the list today. OIG's own guidance recommends screening your full workforce and vendors on that same monthly cycle — a best practice it states plainly, not a legal mandate. What OIG's guidance actually says about monthly screening → · See the monthly screening service →

For new federal enforcement actions and court records every day, see CourtPulse (courtpls.com).

More guides

What OIG's monthly screening guidance actually says
HHS-OIG recommends screening every month but says providers are not required by statute or regulation to check the LEIE. What the guidance says, who counts as workforce and vendors, and what doing it properly involves.
What is the OIG LEIE, and who has to check it?
The federal List of Excluded Individuals/Entities: who maintains it, what HHS-OIG says about who must check it (no statute or regulation requires providers to), and what exclusion means.
What is the SAM.gov exclusions list?
SAM.gov's federal exclusions list covers contracting and financial assistance across every agency — broader than the LEIE. What it is, who is on it (our own measurement), and its identifiers.
LEIE vs. SAM: what's the difference?
Two federal exclusion lists, different scope, different agencies. How to tell which one matters for a given check, and why a clear result on one says nothing about the other.
How often must healthcare providers screen for exclusions?
HHS-OIG recommends checking the LEIE before hiring and then monthly, and states providers are not required by statute or regulation to check at any particular frequency.
What does exclusion reinstatement mean?
How someone comes off the LEIE, what the file does and doesn't retain, and why history matters even after reinstatement.
What happens if you employ an excluded provider?
What HHS-OIG says about civil monetary penalties and overpayment liability when an organization employs or contracts with an excluded person, including in non-clinical roles.
Exclusion screening by provider type: what OIG's guidance says
HHS-OIG frames screening scope by job category and contract rather than provider type. What its bulletin says, with its own examples for hospitals, pharmacies and contractors.
What is an NPI, and why does it matter for screening?
The National Provider Identifier is the one identifier that makes an exclusion match unambiguous.
State Medicaid exclusion lists vs. federal lists
State Medicaid programs can keep their own exclusion lists, separate from the LEIE and SAM. Which states' lists CFExclusion holds, and what a clear result does and doesn't cover.
How to read an exclusion type code
What the 1128(a) and 1128(b) codes on an LEIE record mean, per HHS-OIG's published exclusion authorities.
What "currently excluded" vs. a data-as-of date means
Every CFExclusion result carries the exclusion's own dates and a data-as-of date for our copy of each source. What each means, and why they differ.
Monthly vs. annual screening: what OIG's own guidance says
HHS-OIG recommends monthly LEIE screening, and says providers are not required by statute or regulation to check at any particular frequency. What that means for an annual cadence.
Why a clear exclusion result is still worth keeping on file
Our view on why a dated clear result is worth keeping: it shows a specific person was checked, on a specific date, against specific sources. Not a legal requirement.