Statutes of limitation serve an essential purpose in ensuring that claims are timely pursued before evidence becomes stale, and that parties can manage their affairs without a cloud of potential liability hanging over them indefinitely.1 These purposes apply with particular force in the context of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General's authority to exclude health care providers from participation in Medicare and Medicaid due to the importance of those programs to the financial survival of providers.2
OIG gave short shrift to the purposes of limitations periods in a proposed rule issued on May 9 regarding its exclusion authority.3 The proposed rule would amend the regulations governing exclusion from Medicare and state health care programs to provide that exclusion is "neither time barred nor subject to any statute of limitations period, even when the exclusion is based on violations of another statute that may have a specified limitations period."4 Comments to the proposed rule must be submitted by July 8.
OIG indicates that the amendment is based on the absence of any express limitations period in 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7 ("the Act").5 According to OIG, no limitations period should apply even though exclusions must be based on, and the Act therefore refers to, violations of the prohibitions on fraud and kickbacks...
