CMS urges physicians to get national IDs before the rush

Doctors who don't sign up for an NPI in advance of the May 2007 deadline may see delayed or rejected claims, CMS officials warn.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. June 26, 2006.

Washington -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is urging every physician who files claims electronically to obtain a National Provider Identifier well ahead of the deadline, which is less than a year away.

By May 23, 2007, affected physicians must use their unique 10-digit code for all claims activity, not just for Medicare transactions. Some payers might ask doctors to start using the number before the deadline. The NPI, which will not change and which will accompany a physician wherever he or she goes, is mandatory even for doctors who use a separate billing agency to submit electronic claims on their behalf.

CMS says applying for an identifier is a simple, 20-minute procedure that will save physicians much more time and avoid many more headaches in the future. The single number, conceived as part of a federal push for administrative simplification, eventually will replace all other identifiers that doctors use to do business with the government, private payers and clearinghouses. Federal officials hope that by promoting the ID and other electronic standards they will reduce the administrative burden on doctors and convince more of them to give up paper claims for good.

Physicians must submit certain information about themselves when applying for an identifier, which they can accomplish online, by mail or through a designated CMS contractor. Such data include Social Security numbers, federal employer identification numbers and any other identifiers that doctors have with Medicare or private insurers.