IOWA · CARE PROGRAM
Home Health Agency
Employees and contract staff who give direct services for Medicare-certified home health agencies; Iowa does not license home health agencies, DIAL surveys them for Medicare.
- Registries named
- 9
- Required
- 7
- Expected
- 2
- Screened by ezOIG
- 5 of 9
- Rules checked
- October 16, 2026
Required checks
Named by a regulation, a statute or the state's Medicaid agencyList of Excluded Individuals/Entities
HHS Office of Inspector General
SCREENED BY EZOIG Federal exclusion check against the HHS-OIG list- WHEN
- MONTHLY Before hire or contract, and monthly
- BASIS
- Iowa Medicaid Provider Agreement (Form 470-2965, rev. 03/26), § 4; IL 1130
The Provider must screen employees and contractors against the HHS-OIG and State Exclusion List before hiring and monthly thereafter. Any exclusions must be reported to the Department.
Read the source hhs.iowa.gov
Iowa Medicaid Sanctions List
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa Medicaid Program Integrity)
SCREENED BY EZOIG State Medicaid exclusion list check- WHEN
- MONTHLY Before hire or contract, and monthly
- BASIS
- Iowa Medicaid Provider Agreement (Form 470-2965, rev. 03/26), § 4 ("State Exclusion List", published on Iowa Medicaid's Excluded Individuals and Entities page as the Iowa Medicaid Sanctions List under "Required Exclusion Databases"); 441 IAC 79.2(2)(w)
The Provider must screen employees and contractors against the HHS-OIG and State Exclusion List before hiring and monthly thereafter. Any exclusions must be reported to the Department.
Read the source hhs.iowa.gov
Iowa Criminal History Record Check
Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI)
NOT SCREENED YET Checked by request to the agency- WHEN
- AT HIRE Before employment (results valid 30 days); verify within seven days of a reported or credible new conviction or founded abuse
- BASIS
- Iowa Code § 135C.33(1)(b), (5); 481 IAC 50.9(3)(b), which names home health agencies as covered facilities
The facility shall either request that the department of public safety perform a criminal history check and that the department of human services perform child and dependent adult abuse record checks of the person in this state, or access the single contact repository (SING) to perform the required background check.
Read the source legis.iowa.gov
Central Abuse Registry (child abuse information)
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
NOT SCREENED YET Checked by request to the agency- WHEN
- AT HIRE Before employment (results valid 30 days); verify within seven days of a reported or credible new conviction or founded abuse
- BASIS
- Iowa Code § 135C.33(1)(b), (5); 481 IAC 50.9(3)(b), which names home health agencies as covered facilities
The facility shall either request that the department of public safety perform a criminal history check and that the department of human services perform child and dependent adult abuse record checks of the person in this state, or access the single contact repository (SING) to perform the required background check.
Read the source legis.iowa.gov
Central Abuse Registry (dependent adult abuse information)
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
NOT SCREENED YET Checked by request to the agency- WHEN
- AT HIRE Before employment (results valid 30 days); verify within seven days of a reported or credible new conviction or founded abuse
- BASIS
- Iowa Code § 135C.33(1)(b), (5); 481 IAC 50.9(3)(b), which names home health agencies as covered facilities
The facility shall either request that the department of public safety perform a criminal history check and that the department of human services perform child and dependent adult abuse record checks of the person in this state, or access the single contact repository (SING) to perform the required background check.
Read the source legis.iowa.gov
Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry
Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL)
SCREENED BY EZOIG Nurse aide registry check- WHEN
- AT HIRE Before an aide who qualifies through a state-approved nurse aide program gives care
- BASIS
- 42 CFR 484.80(a)(1)(iii)
A nurse aide training and competency evaluation program approved by the state as meeting the requirements of § 483.151 through § 483.154 of this chapter, and is currently listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry
Read the source ecfr.gov
Iowa Board of Nursing License Verification
Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (Board of Nursing)
NOT SCREENED YET The registry blocks automated access- WHEN
- AT HIRE At hire and at each renewal, nurses and therapists
- BASIS
- 42 CFR 484.100(b)
The HHA, its branches, and all persons furnishing services to patients must be licensed, certified, or registered, as applicable, in accordance with the state licensing authority as meeting those requirements.
Read the source ecfr.gov
Expected checks
Standard practice, or implied by a provider's enrollment duties; no rule names them outrightIowa Sex Offender Registry
Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation
SCREENED BY EZOIG Sex offender registry check- WHEN
- AT HIRE At hire
- BASIS
- Standard practice; no Iowa rule names it. It lists Iowa registrants with out-of-state convictions that the Iowa-only DCI check misses, and Iowa HHS's Abuse Registry page links it beside the DCI criminal history check
SAM.gov exclusions
General Services Administration
SCREENED BY EZOIG Federal exclusion check against SAM.gov- WHEN
- MONTHLY At hire and monthly
- BASIS
- Iowa Medicaid's exclusion page lists SAM.gov with its "Required Exclusion Databases", but IL 1130 and the HCBS Provider Manual only recommend it and the Provider Agreement leaves it out
Also required
Not registry lookups; ezOIG doesn't run these- HHS Record Check Evaluation (Form 470-2310) before employing anyone whose checks show a conviction or founded child or dependent adult abuse; HHS decides whether the record bars the job (Iowa Code § 135C.33(2)-(4); 441 IAC 119)
- Signed acknowledgment of the record checks, and the application question on founded abuse and convictions (Iowa Code § 135C.33(1)(d))
- Employees report a new conviction or founded abuse within 48 hours and the employer verifies it within seven days (Iowa Code § 135C.33(8))
- Optional comprehensive preliminary background check by a DIAL-approved third-party vendor, allowing provisional employment while SING results and any evaluation are pending (Iowa Code § 135C.33(1)(c))
- Home health aide training and competency evaluation (42 CFR 484.80)
Why some registries are not screened yet
- The registry blocks automated access
- The registry's website turns away automated lookups. We don't work around that, so for now your staff search it themselves.
- Checked by request to the agency
- The agency answers a written request or form rather than an online search.
Guidance, not legal advice
This page summarizes ezOIG's research into Iowa's rules for this program, checked against the regulations as of October 16, 2026. Rules change, and an agency's own contract or license can add to them. Confirm what applies to you with Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa Medicaid) or your own counsel before relying on it.
Screen for Iowa Home Health.
Choose this program when you set up your organization, and ezOIG runs the registries it screens on your schedule.