California FACIS background checks: Levels 1M & 3 explained
A California-specific breakdown of the FACIS healthcare exclusion search: what Level 1M covers, what Level 3 adds from California boards and Medicaid enforcement, and which level fits which employer.
Every California 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 California and which level fits your workforce.
What is a FACIS background check in California?
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 California candidate, a Level 3 FACIS search reaches into the California Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List, the California Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the disciplinary records of every California healthcare licensing board.
California sources included in FACIS Level 3
- California Medicaid Sanctioned or Excluded Provider List
- California Medicaid Fraud Control Unit enforcement actions
- California Board of Medicine disciplinary actions
- California Board of Nursing disciplinary actions
- California Board of Pharmacy disciplinary actions
- California dental, behavioral health, and allied-health board actions
- California Attorney General healthcare-fraud actions
- California contractor disqualification and debarment lists
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 California 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 California employers
| Federal exclusion lists | Level 1M ✓ Level 3 ✓ |
| California Medicaid exclusions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
| CA licensing board disciplinary actions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
| California AG healthcare-fraud actions | Level 1M ✗ Level 3 ✓ |
Which California employers need Level 3?
If any of the following describe your California organization, Level 3 is the right search. Level 1M is not enough to see CA board sanctions or California Medicaid exclusions:
- California hospitals, health systems, and physician groups
- Skilled nursing, assisted-living, and long-term-care operators in California
- Home health, hospice, and DME suppliers billing California Medicaid
- Behavioral health, telehealth, and substance-use providers licensed in California
- Any employer with clinical staff holding a CA license alongside licenses in other states
How often should California providers re-screen?
The OIG Special Advisory Bulletin recommends monthly re-screening against the LEIE. California Medicaid enrollment agreements generally impose the same monthly cadence against the California 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 California employers
SafestHires offers FACIS Level 1M and FACIS Level 3 as standalone searches or bundled into a California 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 California employers
A single-name FACIS Level 3 search on a California 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 CA board or California 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 California hire.
Building a complete California healthcare hiring package
FACIS is the sanction-and-exclusion layer of a healthcare hire, but it is only one component. A complete California clinical hiring package typically pairs FACIS Level 3 with:
- Primary-source license verification against the California Board of Medicine, California Board of Nursing, and California Board of Pharmacy
- County criminal history for every California county lived or worked in during the FCRA lookback window
- National sex offender registry and California-specific abuse/neglect registry lookups
- Employment and education verification, including internship and residency dates
- Drug screening under California employer policy — 5- or 10-panel lab-based
- Financial Risk Search for California finance, revenue-cycle, and executive roles with fiduciary duties (bankruptcies, judgments, liens from public records)
See California background check laws for the state-level rules that shape package design, and the package builder to assemble a California healthcare package end-to-end.
Frequently asked questions about FACIS in California
What is the penalty if a California 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 California can pursue additional penalties under state false-claims statutes.
Is a Financial Risk Search recommended for California healthcare hires?
For clinical roles, FACIS plus primary-source license verification and county criminal history is the compliance-driven baseline. For California 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 California?
No. FACIS surfaces disciplinary and sanction history, but it does not confirm that a CA license is currently active and in good standing. SafestHires runs primary-source license verification against each California board alongside FACIS on every clinical hire.