The most commonly referenced “DHHS list” is the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities, or LEIE, maintained by the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is a federal database of people and organizations banned from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other federally funded healthcare programs. If you work in healthcare or manage a healthcare organization, this is almost certainly the list someone is asking about. That said, DHHS (more commonly abbreviated HHS) maintains several other important lists, including federal poverty guidelines, a report on cancer-causing substances, and a registry of dangerous biological agents.
The OIG Exclusion List (LEIE)
The LEIE is the centerpiece of federal healthcare fraud enforcement. When someone is placed on this list, no federal healthcare program will pay for any items or services that person provides, orders, or prescribes. The exclusion applies across the board: Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), TRICARE, and Veterans Affairs programs.
Individuals land on this list through two routes. Some exclusions are mandatory, meaning the OIG has no choice. Others are permissive, meaning the OIG uses its judgment on a case-by-case basis.
Mandatory Exclusions
Federal law requires the OIG to exclude anyone convicted of Medicare or Medicaid fraud, patient abuse or neglect, felony healthcare fraud or financial misconduct, or felony charges related to illegally manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing controlled substances. Each of these carries a minimum five-year exclusion. A second offense bumps the minimum to 10 years. A third or subsequent offense results in permanent exclusion from all federal healthcare programs.
Permissive Exclusions
The OIG can also exclude individuals for a broader range of offenses, even when it isn’t legally required to. These include misdemeanor convictions for healthcare fraud, fraud in any government-funded program (not just healthcare), obstruction of a federal investigation or audit, and misdemeanor controlled substance violations. The baseline exclusion period for these offenses is three years.
Beyond criminal convictions, the OIG can exclude providers who have had their medical license revoked or suspended, those who submit false claims, those involved in illegal kickback arrangements, and those who default on health education loans or scholarships. The exclusion period for a defaulted loan lasts until the obligation is resolved. For entities controlled by an already-excluded individual, the exclusion lasts as long as that individual’s own ban.
Why Employers Need to Check It
Healthcare organizations that employ or contract with someone on the LEIE face serious financial consequences. Each item or service that an excluded person furnishes and bills to a federal program can trigger a civil monetary penalty of up to $10,000, plus an assessment of up to three times the amount claimed. The organization itself can also be excluded from federal programs. This is why hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, home health agencies, and billing companies routinely screen employees and contractors against the list.
The OIG provides a free, searchable online database at exclusions.oig.hhs.gov. You can search for individuals one at a time or upload batches. Downloadable database files are also available for organizations that need to run large-scale checks. The LEIE is updated monthly, typically by the middle of each month, with all actions taken during the prior month. Supplemental files for new exclusions and reinstatements are posted on the same schedule and can be merged with previously downloaded data.
Federal Poverty Guidelines
Another widely referenced HHS list is the federal poverty guidelines, published annually by the department’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. These dollar figures determine eligibility for dozens of assistance programs, including Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), Head Start, and subsidized health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
For 2025, the poverty guideline for a single person in the 48 contiguous states is $15,650 per year. For a family of four, it’s $32,150. Many programs set their eligibility cutoffs at a percentage of these numbers. For example, a program available to households at 200% of the federal poverty level would cover a family of four earning up to $64,300. Alaska and Hawaii have slightly higher thresholds to account for higher living costs.
The Report on Carcinogens
HHS also publishes the Report on Carcinogens through the National Toxicology Program. This is a congressionally mandated list of substances that are known or suspected to cause cancer. It uses two classification levels. Substances labeled “known to be human carcinogens” have sufficient evidence from human studies showing a causal link to cancer. Substances labeled “reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens” have either limited evidence in humans, strong evidence from animal studies, or belong to a chemical class whose members are already listed. The report is updated periodically, and its listings influence workplace safety regulations, environmental policy, and consumer product standards.
The Select Agent List
HHS, together with the USDA, maintains a list of biological agents and toxins considered serious threats to public health, agriculture, or both. Known as the Select Agent and Toxin List, it governs which organisms and substances require strict security, registration, and oversight when handled in laboratories. The HHS portion of the list includes pathogens like the Ebola virus, Marburg virus, smallpox (variola major and minor), the plague bacterium (Yersinia pestis), and the organism that causes anthrax. It also covers dangerous toxins such as ricin, abrin, botulinum neurotoxins, and tetrodotoxin. Any lab that possesses, uses, or transfers these agents must register with the Federal Select Agent Program and follow rigorous biosafety and security protocols.
Which List Are You Looking For?
If you’re in healthcare compliance, hiring, or credentialing, the LEIE exclusion list is almost certainly what you need. You can search it directly at exclusions.oig.hhs.gov and should do so before onboarding any employee, contractor, or vendor, then recheck monthly when the database updates.
If you’re checking whether your household qualifies for a government benefit, look up the current HHS poverty guidelines at aspe.hhs.gov. If you’re researching whether a chemical or substance has been flagged as a cancer risk, search the Report on Carcinogens at the National Toxicology Program website. And if you work in a research lab handling dangerous pathogens, the Select Agent List at selectagents.gov is the relevant reference.