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