May 24 2008
Deadline: May 23, 2008 - Now Necesarry to use Only NPI numbers
May 23rd 2008 marks the deadline to using other identifying numbers other than your NPI.
You need to delete your other identifing numbers and just use your National Provider Identification. Be sure you contact your software vendors for information about where to place the appropriate numbers.
Below are some excerpts from the cms website: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=3124&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&checkKey=&srchType=1&numDays=3500&srchOpt=0&srchData=&keywordType=All&chkNewsType=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5&intPage=&showAll=&pYear=&year=&desc=&cboOrder=date
CMS REMINDS MEDICARE FEE-FOR-SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SUPPLIERS NPI DEADLINE IS MAY 23
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reminds all Medicare providers and suppliers that beginning May 23, 2008, they are required to use only a National Provider Identifier (NPI) to identify health care providers in all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standard transactions used in the Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) program.
In accordance with the “Guidance on Compliance with the HIPAA NPI Rule,” issued in April 2007, Medicare FFS will be lifting its NPI contingency plan on Friday, May 23, 2008. All health care providers and suppliers who submit claims to Medicare Contractors [Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs), Carriers, A/B Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), and DME MACs] must use their NPIs to identify themselves and any other health care providers and suppliers on those claims.
The NPI is a unique 10-digit number that does not carry other information about the health care providers it identifies, such as the State in which they practice or their medical specialty. The NPI must be used in lieu of legacy provider identifiers in HIPAA standard transactions. If a standard transaction is sent to Medicare with a Medicare legacy identifier in any of the provider fields, the transaction will be rejected.
“We have been working with health care providers and their trade and professional organizations for more than two years to get us to this point of one unique number for identification. We are once again strongly urging all health care providers to act now and ensure they have and use their NPI. All Medicare transactions that are sent with a legacy number will be rejected on and after the May 23 deadline,” said Acting Administrator Kerry Weems.
The intent of the NPI is to simplify standard transactions by having health care providers use a single identifier (the NPI) to identify themselves, thus eliminating the need for health care providers to keep track of and use the multiple identifiers that health plans have assigned to them over the years. “The NPI will not only simplify the claims process for providers, it will improve the efficiency of the health care system and help to reduce fraud and abuse,” added Weems.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.