Alabama FACIS® background checks: Levels 1M & 3 explained
A Alabama-specific breakdown of the FACIS® healthcare exclusion search: what Level 1M covers, what Level 3 adds from Alabama boards and Medicaid enforcement, and which level fits which employer.
FACIS®, powered by Verisys, is a registered trademark owned by the Verisys Corporation.
Short answer
What is the difference between FACIS® Level 1M and Level 3 in Alabama?
FACIS® Level 1M covers federal exclusion sources — OIG-LEIE, SAM.gov, and OFAC. FACIS® Level 3 adds Alabama sources: the Alabama Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List, the Alabama Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and disciplinary records from the Alabama medical, nursing, and pharmacy boards. Level 3 is the standard for direct-patient-care and licensed roles.
Every Alabama organization that bills a federally funded healthcare program — Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, or a state Medicaid managed-care plan — is required to verify that its employees, contractors, and vendors are not excluded from participation. FACIS® is the standard tool for that verification. This guide covers what a FACIS® search returns in Alabama and which level fits your workforce.
What is a FACIS® background check in Alabama?
FACIS® (Fraud and Abuse Control Information System) is a healthcare-specific sanction database that aggregates federal exclusion and debarment records with state licensing, Medicaid, and Attorney General enforcement data. Run against a Alabama candidate, a Level 3 FACIS® search reaches into the Alabama Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List, the Alabama Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the disciplinary records of every Alabama healthcare licensing board.
Alabama sources included in FACIS® Level 3
- Alabama Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List
- Alabama Medicaid Fraud Control Unit enforcement actions
- Alabama Board of Medicine disciplinary actions
- Alabama Board of Nursing disciplinary actions
- Alabama Board of Pharmacy disciplinary actions
- Alabama dental, behavioral health, and allied-health board actions
- Alabama Attorney General healthcare-fraud actions
- Alabama contractor disqualification and debarment lists
Alabama hiring rules that shape a healthcare screening program
FACIS® answers the exclusion question, but a Alabama healthcare hire also runs into state-specific reporting and inquiry rules. Alabama has no state statute shortening the FCRA seven-year reporting window for arrests or non-convictions, and convictions may be reported indefinitely.
Criminal-history inquiry timing. There is no statewide private-employer ban-the-box statute. State agency hiring removed the conviction question in 2016. That matters for clinical hiring in Alabama because a FACIS® hit and a county criminal hit often arrive together, and the order in which you may act on them is set by state law, not by the report.
Drug and cannabis testing. Medical cannabis is permitted under SB 46 (2021) but there is no employer off-duty-use protection. Employers may continue to test and disqualify based on a positive THC result.
Salary history. Alabama has no statewide salary-history ban.
Practical note for Alabama providers. No state-level expungement seal for employer reports — but Alabama's first-time-offender pardon program may suppress records.
Primary Alabama citations: 15 U.S.C. §1681 (FCRA) · Ala. Code §41-22-50 (state agency hiring)
Full detail lives in the Alabama background check guide.
Federal sources included in every FACIS® search
Both Level 1M and Level 3 include the federal exclusion sources that satisfy OIG and CMS baseline requirements for Alabama providers:
- OIG List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE)
- System for Award Management (SAM), including SDN
- OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list
- FDA Debarment List
- DEA administrative actions
- GSA excluded parties
- TRICARE excluded providers
- U.S. Department of Justice, Treasury, and State healthcare-fraud actions
FACIS® Level 1M vs. Level 3 for Alabama employers
| Federal exclusion lists | Level 1M ✓ Level 3 ✓ |
| Alabama Medicaid exclusions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
| AL licensing board disciplinary actions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
| Alabama AG healthcare-fraud actions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
Which Alabama employers need Level 3?
If any of the following describe your Alabama organization, Level 3 is the right search. Level 1M is not enough to see AL board sanctions or Alabama Medicaid exclusions:
- Alabama hospitals, health systems, and physician groups
- Skilled nursing, assisted-living, and long-term-care operators in Alabama
- Home health, hospice, and DME suppliers billing Alabama Medicaid
- Behavioral health, telehealth, and substance-use providers licensed in Alabama
- Any employer with clinical staff holding a AL license alongside licenses in other states
How often should Alabama providers re-screen?
The OIG Special Advisory Bulletin recommends monthly re-screening against the LEIE. Alabama Medicaid enrollment agreements generally impose the same monthly cadence against the Alabama Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List. A pre-hire FACIS® check is the starting point; continuous monthly monitoring is what catches sanctions that land after the hire date.
How SafestHires runs FACIS® for Alabama employers
SafestHires offers FACIS® Level 1M and FACIS® Level 3 as standalone searches or bundled into a Alabama healthcare hiring package alongside primary-source license verification, sex-offender registry checks, and county criminal history. Ongoing monthly monitoring is available for the entire workforce from the same dashboard.
FACIS® turnaround time for Alabama employers
A single-name FACIS® Level 3 search on a Alabama candidate typically returns in minutes because most sources are queried via live API. Manual review kicks in only when the search returns a potential match that needs AL board or Alabama Medicaid-exclusion identifier confirmation before it can be reported. See the SafestHires turnaround guide for a full breakdown of what drives timing across all searches in a Alabama hire.
Building a complete Alabama healthcare hiring package
FACIS® is the sanction-and-exclusion layer of a healthcare hire, but it is only one component. A complete Alabama clinical hiring package typically pairs FACIS® Level 3 with:
- Primary-source license verification against the Alabama Board of Medicine, Alabama Board of Nursing, and Alabama Board of Pharmacy
- County criminal history for every Alabama county lived or worked in during the FCRA lookback window
- National sex offender registry and Alabama-specific abuse/neglect registry lookups
- Employment and education verification, including internship and residency dates
- Drug screening under Alabama employer policy — 5- or 10-panel lab-based
- Financial Risk Search for Alabama finance, revenue-cycle, and executive roles with fiduciary duties (bankruptcies, judgments, liens from public records)
See Alabama background check laws for the state-level rules that shape package design, and the package builder to assemble a Alabama healthcare package end-to-end.
Frequently asked questions about FACIS® in Alabama
What is the penalty if a Alabama employer bills for services from an excluded provider?
Under 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7a, civil monetary penalties can reach up to $21,000 per item or service claimed, plus treble damages, plus repayment of every dollar that touched the excluded person's work. State Medicaid Fraud Control Units in Alabama can pursue additional penalties under state false-claims statutes.
Is a Financial Risk Search recommended for Alabama healthcare hires?
For clinical roles, FACIS® plus primary-source license verification and county criminal history is the compliance-driven baseline. For Alabama healthcare finance, revenue-cycle, and executive roles with fiduciary responsibility, the SafestHires Financial Risk Search — bankruptcies, civil judgments, and tax liens from public records — is a common add-on to surface public financial-risk indicators before hire.
Does FACIS® replace primary-source license verification in Alabama?
No. FACIS® surfaces disciplinary and sanction history, but it does not confirm that a AL license is currently active and in good standing. SafestHires runs primary-source license verification against each Alabama board alongside FACIS® on every clinical hire.