This Compliance Guidance has been gathered and interpreted by NHPCO from various resources and is provided for informational purposes. This should not be viewed as official policy of CMS or the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). It is always the provider’s responsibility to determine and comply with applicable CMS, MAC and other payer requirements. The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released Updated Special Advisory Bulletin on the Effect of Exclusion from Participation in Federal Health Care Programs in 2013 which updates the 1999 “Special Advisory Bulletin”. The Special Advisory Bulletin is a “must-read” resource for compliance officers, as well as legal counsel, human resources, finance and other managers who work to ensure that health care providers do not employ or contract with individuals and organizations that have been excluded from a Federal health care programi. The OIG’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (“LEIE”), is available at http://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions What is the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE)? The Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) provides information to the health care industry, patients and the public regarding individuals and entities currently excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and all other Federal health care programs. The OIG imposes exclusions under the authority of sections 1128 and 1156 of the Social Security Act which outline conditions and timeframes for exclusion. Individuals and entities who have been reinstated are removed from the LEIEii. Why is there an LEIE in place? The Medicare and Medicaid Patient and Program Protection Act of 1987, Public Law 100-93, expanded and revised OIG’s administrative sanction authorities by establishing certain additional mandatory and discretionary exclusions for various types of misconduct. The enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191, in 1996 and the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997, Public Law 105-33, further expanded OIG’s sanction authoritiesiii.