Over the span of just a few weeks in October, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued (or revised) a series of policies that seem to reinforce a common refrain: Self-disclosure has its perks. On October 22, 2026, the DOJ’s Civil Division, HHS, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a “Healthcare False Claims Act Self-Disclosure Pilot Program” (FCA SDPP).

TLDR: The government is once again encouraging self-disclosure, this time offering additional incentives to do so in the next six months. As discussed further below, however, if companies think conduct may be criminal, this program is not for them. You can find additional details here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-departments-civil-division-and-department-health-human-services-announce-anti-fraud

A few key takeaways about the FCA SDPP:

• There is a firm deadline. Self-Disclosures must be submitted by 11:59PM on April 22, 2027 to the FCA SDPP self-disclosure email address. “Late or partial submissions will not be accepted or reviewed.”
• The disclosure must include all relevant details, down to specifying the laws, regulations or binding requirements that were violated and the time period of the violations; include exhibits; specify remedial or corrective measures; provide financial information to calculate repayment; come with a certification; and include the company’s point of contact for follow-up (who does not necessarily need to be the authorized representative who signed the certification).
• Disclosing companies will receive favorable treatment in a coordinated civil release, with no factual admissions. “Consistent with the HHS OIG Health Care Fraud Self-Disclosure Protocol, HHS OIG shall not require a Corporate Integrity Agreement as part of any resolution of HHS OIG’s exclusion authorities under this pilot Program,” CMS will not impose civil monetary penalties or seek revocation, and disclosing parties need not separately disclose the same conduct under any other existing civil self-disclosure protocol.”
• The financial repayment will be 1.25 to 1.6 times the amount of the base self-disclosure repayment. 
• The Program is limited to civil conduct previously unknown to the Government.

Criminal conduct can still only be reported to DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. This Civil Pilot Program comes on the heels of the October 15, 2026, announcement that the Fraud Division is the single point of contact for self-disclosure of potentially criminal misconduct, and of the October 20, 2026, announcement of the  Criminal Tip Rewards Pilot Program, which pays individual tipsters $10,000 to $30,000 at the charging stage of a criminal case, with a particular focus on health care fraud. A disclosure made only to HHS-OIG, even under FCA SDPP, generally will not qualify as a voluntary self-disclosure under Fraud Division’s protocols. That the FCA SDPP offers no protection or incentives for what could be potentially criminal conduct is important to keep in mind when potentially reportable conduct could implicate criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement. However, if a matter is not criminal, the FCA SDPP offers disclosing companies concrete incentives: coordinated civil release under the False Claims Act with no factual admissions, no Corporate Integrity Agreement, no CMS civil monetary penalties or revocation, and a repayment of 1.25 to 1.6 times the Base Self-Disclosure Repayment.

With a focus on incentivizing both self-disclosure and whistleblowers, October’s enforcement message is clear: a solid compliance program is essential for companies to be in a position to assess the best path forward . . . before time runs out.