There is a lot of talk about getting your NPI number. You must have it by May 23 or your cash flow may be severely affected. Don’t wait until the last minute to get it because you’ll need to report it to all the different insurance companies. But if you had to apply for two NPI numbers, one individual and one group, which one do you use to file claims?
Most insurance companies, including Medicare, require the individual NPI number on the claim in box 33a. If you are filing paper claims, enter your individual NPI number in box 33a on the CMS 1500 form. If you also have a group NPI number, you must enter it in box 32a on the CMS 1500 form.
If you submit your insurance claims electronically, you may need to prove your claims once you have uploaded your NPI number. For your paper claims, you must update your software to be ready for the new CMS 1500 forms that allow you to report the NPI number.
You may also receive requests from colleagues who notify you of their NPI number and request yours. Sharing your NPI number with other medical providers is necessary because when you refer a patient to another provider or if another provider refers a patient to you, you may need to include that provider’s NPI number on the claim form.
NPI numbers are here to stay, so there is no use trying to avoid them. The more you learn about them, the easier it will be to understand how to use them. The first step is to get one, so if you haven’t gotten your NPI number yet, you should do so right away.
Copyright 2007 – Michele Redmond