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If you are a health care provider who bills for services, you probably need National Provider Identifier (NPI). If you bill Medicare for services, you definitely need an NPI! Getting an NPI is easy. Getting an NPI is free. The first step is to get your NPI. Once you obtain your NPI, it is estimated that it will take 120 days to do the remaining work to use it. This includes working on your internal billing systems, coordinating with billing services, vendors, and clearinghouses and testing with payers. As outlined in the federal regulation, implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), you must also share their NPI with other providers, health plans, clearinghouses and any entity that may need it for billing purposes. If you delay applying for your NPI, you risk your cash flow and that of your health care partners as well. Providers have until May 23, 2007, before you are required to submit claims with only an NPI. Information available on the CMS website: If you are not sure what an NPI is and how you can get it, share it and use it? As always, more information and education on the NPI can be found at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) NPI page www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand on the CMS website. In addition, a new Special Edition MLN Matters article is now posted on the (CMS) website with important information for Medicare providers, as well as information that may be helpful for all health care providers. Providers can apply for an NPI online at https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/ or can call the NPI enumerator to request a paper application at 1-800-465-3203. |