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U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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Inspector General

Administrative Sanctions

Under the authority of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Amendments Act of 1988 (5 USC § 8902a) and the Governmentwide Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension Common Rule (Executive Order 12549 and 5 CFR Part 970), the Administrative Sanctions Branch debars from participation in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) health care providers who have 1) lost professional licensure; 2) been convicted of a crime related to delivery of or payment for health care services; 3) violated provisions of a federal program, or 4) are debarred by another federal agency.

These sanctions are intended to protect the integrity of the FEHBP as well as the health care interests of persons who obtain their insurance coverage through the program.   Debarment assures that FEHBP funds will not be paid to sanctioned providers, either directly or indirectly.  If FEHBP subscribers choose to continue obtaining services from debarred providers, they will be solely and personally responsible for the resulting costs. However, the Office of the Inspector General administers the debarment program to assure that subscribers will be covered for services obtained in good faith and without knowledge that a provider with whom they dealt had been debarred.

The names of health care providers who have been debarred by OPM are published in the General Services Administration's "Governmentwide List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs," which is accessible on the Internet at http://www.ARNet.gov/epls.

The Office of the Inspector General also holds membership in the Interagency Committee on Debarment and Suspension, which is comprised of debarring officials from agencies governmentwide. The Interagency Committee has coordinative and advisory roles with regard to unified federal policy about administrative sanctions.  More information about the governmentwide debarment and suspension system is available on the Interagency Committee's Website at www.dot.gov/ost/m60/grant/net.htm.