DOJ, HHS Open Coordinated Health Care Self-Disclosure Pathways
DOJ's NFED criminal channel and a six-month civil FCA self-disclosure pilot, open until 22 April 2027, give health care clients defined reporting routes but narrow eligibility and releases leaving state and exclusion exposure open.
In October 2026 DOJ and HHS opened two coordinated routes for healthcare companies to self-report misconduct involving federally funded healthcare programs. The NFED Healthcare Self-Disclosure Program (announced 15 October) routes potentially criminal conduct to DOJ's Health Care Fraud Section, which will forward the submission to HHS-OIG; a qualifying DOJ disclosure satisfies HHS-OIG's Self-Disclosure Protocol without a separate filing, and disclosure to HHS-OIG alone will not qualify for a DOJ declination. The FCA Self-Disclosure Pilot Program (announced 22 October) creates a six-month civil channel to DOJ's Civil Division, open only until 22 April 2027, requiring a complete account, supporting documents, remediation and repayment at a 1.25-1.6 multiplier rather than up to triple damages, in return for a coordinated federal FCA and HHS administrative release that does not resolve state Medicaid, licensing or exclusion exposure. Both build on DOJ's March 2026 uniform corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy. Sophisticated clients should triage criminal versus civil exposure early, confirm the government does not already know the facts, model multiplier economics against ordinary Civil Division cooperation credit, and document the decision process. Watch for pilot eligibility criteria and HHS-OIG's pending protocol revision on criminal disclosures.