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Lack of NPI preparedness could lead to payment disruptions

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, December 19, 2006

Although the healthcare industry is making significant progress toward meeting the May 23, 2007, compliance deadline for national provider identifiers (NPI), there will possibly be disruptions to payments to providers, according to a November 29 letter from the chairman of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt.

"To date, over 1.4 million NPIs have been issued, which [CMS] estimates represents approximately 60% of the total provider universe. However, based on testimony, few of the providers who have obtained NPIs have communicated their NPIs to their health plans or facilities where they practice, and few are sending NPIs in HIPAA transactions," Simon Cohn, MD, MPH, chairman of the NCVHS, writes.

Cohn also pressed CMS to release the delayed data dissemination notice regarding the National Plan/Provider Enumeration System database. The information is necessary for health plans to complete NPI crosswalks, Cohn adds.

To read Cohn's letter, click here.

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