OIG LEIE (Federal Exclusion List) vs CMS PECOS: Side-by-Side Comparison
OIG LEIE and CMS PECOS are federal HHS/CMS systems that answer different questions: PECOS reports Medicare enrollment, while LEIE reports federal program exclusions. Checking both covers those two federal records; it does not establish complete credentialing, licensure, or state-exclusion coverage.
OIG LEIE (Federal Exclusion List) vs CMS PECOS, across 8 dimensions
| Dimension | OIG LEIE (Federal Exclusion List) | CMS PECOS |
|---|---|---|
| Data type | Federal exclusion records — OIG-sanctioned providers barred from Medicare/Medicaid billing | Medicare fee-for-service enrollment — active billing authorization by specialty and state |
| Coverage | 83,464 excluded individuals and entities (monthly snapshot) | ~900,000 active Medicare FFS enrollment records |
| Refresh cadence | OIG publishes monthly; Fonteum's newest loaded LEIE source date was 2026-06-30 when checked 2026-08-12 | CMS publishes periodically; Fonteum's newest loaded source-release date was 2026-06-18 when checked 2026-07-12 |
| License / Cost | U.S. government public-domain works — free to redistribute with attribution | U.S. government public-domain works — free to use and redistribute with attribution |
| API access | Monthly CSV at oig.hhs.gov; no REST API from OIG directly | CSV bulk download via data.cms.gov; no dedicated REST API |
| Source provenance | OIG source and loaded date are identified; file-digest and attestation coverage is snapshot-specific | Available source and observation metadata varies by response; no provenance fact currently links deterministically to a signature |
| Primary use case | Sanction screening — identifying excluded providers before contracting with or billing federal programs for them | Medicare enrollment confirmation — confirming a provider is actively enrolled and authorized to bill FFS |
| Pricing | Free (federal public domain) | Free (federal public domain) |
Cells marked “—” indicate values not publicly documented by the respective platform. No data has been estimated or fabricated.
Which platform fits your team
When to use OIG LEIE (Federal Exclusion List)
Use OIG LEIE for sanction screening — checking whether a provider is excluded from federal healthcare-program participation. OIG advises checking before employing or contracting and periodically afterward; its guidance says monthly screening best minimizes potential liability because OIG publishes a refreshed LEIE file each month.
When to use CMS PECOS
Use CMS PECOS for Medicare enrollment confirmation — confirming whether a provider is actively enrolled and authorized to receive Medicare reimbursement for a given specialty and state.
Common questions
- Should I check OIG LEIE and PECOS for the same provider?
- They answer different questions. PECOS reports Medicare enrollment; LEIE reports exclusion from federal healthcare programs. A program that needs both enrollment and exclusion status should check both records rather than treating either one as a substitute for the other.
- Can a provider be in PECOS and on the OIG LEIE simultaneously?
- CMS and OIG coordinate to terminate Medicare participation when a provider is excluded, but the two records answer different questions and may not update at the same time. OIG advises periodic LEIE checks and says monthly screening best minimizes potential liability because OIG publishes a refreshed LEIE file each month.
- What is the difference between exclusion and debarment?
- OIG LEIE covers exclusion from federal healthcare programs (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, TRICARE). SAM.gov covers debarment from federal contracting. These are different sanctions from different agencies. A full compliance screen for a healthcare contractor typically covers both.
- How does Fonteum combine OIG LEIE and PECOS?
- Fonteum can cross-resolve PECOS and the NPI-bearing subset of OIG LEIE where both rows supply the same NPI. Most LEIE rows do not carry one, so name-based screening remains a separate process with its own limitations. Returned fields retain source attribution and dates.
Last updated 2026-05-31. See all comparisons at /compare →
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