You can now track down excluded providers by their national provider identifiers (NPIs), following upgrades to the HHS Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) database announced June 11.
 
The lack of NPI information in the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) had occasionally made it challenging for providers to ensure their search turned up the right provider. The OIG also is adding fields with information about waivers and waiver states, according to the announcement.
 
The enhancements to LEIE come on the heels of updated guidance from the OIG on how it expects providers to check employees’ and contractors’ exclusion status.
 
Through August 2013, providers will be able to download versions of the OIG’s database with or without the new information. Starting in September, only the new version will be available.
 
The OIG “strongly recommends” that providers download the new version of the files before September because monthly updates with the new fields will include that information only for new exclusions, not for the records already in LEIE. The first monthly update with the new fields will be issued in July.
 
To stay on top of OIG exclusion guidance, turn to Home Health Line.