On April 17, 2013, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services released an updated Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP). As self-described, OIG updated the SDP to provide disclosing parties with a better understanding of time frames, requirements for complete disclosure and potential post-disclosure resolutions, and to streamline and expedite the SDP process. While the updated protocol contains some incentives for self-disclosure, some of its new provisions will have the opposite impact and discourage companies and individuals from participating in the already infrequently used process.
Top-Line Summary:
• To be eligible for the SDP, a disclosing party must now: (1) specify the laws that were potentially violated, (2) agree to waive any statute of limitations, laches or similar defenses, and (3) ensure that corrective actions have been implemented and the misconduct has stopped.
• OIG shortened the time line for a disclosing party to complete its investigation from “within 3 months after acceptance into the SDP” to “within 90 days of the date of its initial submission.”
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