Arizona FACIS® background checks: Levels 1M & 3 explained
A Arizona-specific breakdown of the FACIS® healthcare exclusion search: what Level 1M covers, what Level 3 adds from Arizona boards and Medicaid enforcement, and which level fits which employer.
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Short answer
What is the difference between FACIS® Level 1M and Level 3 in Arizona?
FACIS® Level 1M covers federal exclusion sources — OIG-LEIE, SAM.gov, and OFAC. FACIS® Level 3 adds Arizona sources: the Arizona Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List, the Arizona Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and disciplinary records from the Arizona medical, nursing, and pharmacy boards. Level 3 is the standard for direct-patient-care and licensed roles.
Every Arizona 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 Arizona and which level fits your workforce.
What is a FACIS® background check in Arizona?
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 Arizona candidate, a Level 3 FACIS® search reaches into the Arizona Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List, the Arizona Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the disciplinary records of every Arizona healthcare licensing board.
Arizona sources included in FACIS® Level 3
- Arizona Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List
- Arizona Medicaid Fraud Control Unit enforcement actions
- Arizona Board of Medicine disciplinary actions
- Arizona Board of Nursing disciplinary actions
- Arizona Board of Pharmacy disciplinary actions
- Arizona dental, behavioral health, and allied-health board actions
- Arizona Attorney General healthcare-fraud actions
- Arizona contractor disqualification and debarment lists
Arizona hiring rules that shape a healthcare screening program
FACIS® answers the exclusion question, but a Arizona healthcare hire also runs into state-specific reporting and inquiry rules. Arizona reports follow the FCRA seven-year cap for non-convictions; convictions can be reported indefinitely.
Criminal-history inquiry timing. Governor Ducey's 2017 executive order removed the conviction question from initial state-agency applications. There is no private-employer requirement statewide. That matters for clinical hiring in Arizona 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. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (ARS §36-2813) protects registered patients from discrimination unless impairment is shown at work. Prop 207 (2020) legalized recreational use but preserved employer drug-free workplace rights.
Salary history. No statewide salary-history ban.
Practical note for Arizona providers. Set-aside is not expungement — disclose carefully and respect AMMA registered-patient status.
Primary Arizona citations: ARS §36-2813 (AMMA) · ARS §13-905 (set-aside) · Exec. Order 2017-07
Full detail lives in the Arizona 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 Arizona 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 Arizona employers
| Federal exclusion lists | Level 1M ✓ Level 3 ✓ |
| Arizona Medicaid exclusions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
| AZ licensing board disciplinary actions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
| Arizona AG healthcare-fraud actions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
Which Arizona employers need Level 3?
If any of the following describe your Arizona organization, Level 3 is the right search. Level 1M is not enough to see AZ board sanctions or Arizona Medicaid exclusions:
- Arizona hospitals, health systems, and physician groups
- Skilled nursing, assisted-living, and long-term-care operators in Arizona
- Home health, hospice, and DME suppliers billing Arizona Medicaid
- Behavioral health, telehealth, and substance-use providers licensed in Arizona
- Any employer with clinical staff holding a AZ license alongside licenses in other states
How often should Arizona providers re-screen?
The OIG Special Advisory Bulletin recommends monthly re-screening against the LEIE. Arizona Medicaid enrollment agreements generally impose the same monthly cadence against the Arizona 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 Arizona employers
SafestHires offers FACIS® Level 1M and FACIS® Level 3 as standalone searches or bundled into a Arizona 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 Arizona employers
A single-name FACIS® Level 3 search on a Arizona 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 AZ board or Arizona 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 Arizona hire.
Building a complete Arizona healthcare hiring package
FACIS® is the sanction-and-exclusion layer of a healthcare hire, but it is only one component. A complete Arizona clinical hiring package typically pairs FACIS® Level 3 with:
- Primary-source license verification against the Arizona Board of Medicine, Arizona Board of Nursing, and Arizona Board of Pharmacy
- County criminal history for every Arizona county lived or worked in during the FCRA lookback window
- National sex offender registry and Arizona-specific abuse/neglect registry lookups
- Employment and education verification, including internship and residency dates
- Drug screening under Arizona employer policy — 5- or 10-panel lab-based
- Financial Risk Search for Arizona finance, revenue-cycle, and executive roles with fiduciary duties (bankruptcies, judgments, liens from public records)
See Arizona background check laws for the state-level rules that shape package design, and the package builder to assemble a Arizona healthcare package end-to-end.
Frequently asked questions about FACIS® in Arizona
What is the penalty if a Arizona 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 Arizona can pursue additional penalties under state false-claims statutes.
Is a Financial Risk Search recommended for Arizona healthcare hires?
For clinical roles, FACIS® plus primary-source license verification and county criminal history is the compliance-driven baseline. For Arizona 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 Arizona?
No. FACIS® surfaces disciplinary and sanction history, but it does not confirm that a AZ license is currently active and in good standing. SafestHires runs primary-source license verification against each Arizona board alongside FACIS® on every clinical hire.