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