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