OLYMPIA -- Washington State's Medicaid program has notified its doctors, dentists, and other health-care providers that they must report their new National Provider Identifiers (NPI) to the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

The new identifiers – a unique ten digit number for each provider is part of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Providers were supposed to obtain their NPI from the federal government earlier this spring. Now that they have the new identifiers, they need to report them directly to DSHS by August 17 to make sure they are entered in the agency's new computer payment system, ProviderOne, expected to go on line next year.

General information on the NPI and how to get one is available through Web site of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS): www.cms.hhs.gov.

Specific instructions on reporting the NPI to DSHS were mailed to health-care providers this spring.

Any provider with questions about ProviderOne or how to report the NPI to DSHS can visit our Web site or contact DSHS by either e-mail or phone.

Here are three options for providers:

• Visit the ProviderOne Web site at http://maa.dshs.wa.gov/ProviderOne/providers.htm.
• E-mail questions to ProviderOne@dshs.wa.gov
• Phone DSHS at 1-800-562-3022 (select option 2, then option 4).

"We want to avoid confusion over the fact that providers have to take this second step to report their NPI directly to DSHS," said Doug Porter, Assistant DSHS Secretary for the Health and Recovery Services Administration.

"Providers should be listing their NPI on medical claims, but that does not fulfill the obligation to report the NPI directly to DSHS," Porter said. "We need that step to make sure our new payment system is ready to handle all of its claims transactions when it goes live next year."

Providers who don't report their NPI by the August 17 date may find themselves limited to one payment address or account when DSHS' new payment system is put into service, he said.

WHY DSHS NEEDS YOU TO REPORT YOUR NPI

Reporting the new identifier to DSHS is an important step in ensuring uninterrupted payments when DSHS moves to its new payment system, ProviderOne next year. For more information on ProviderOne, visit the Web site: http://maa.dshs.wa.gov/ProviderOne/providers.htm.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROVIDERS:
To report the NPI to the state, providers need to have their NPIs at hand, along with their Tax Identification Number or Social Security Number, and their current seven-digit Medicaid provider identification numbers.

• Providers have their choice of ways to report the NPI. They can enter their NPI(s) directly through our Internet Web site or upload large files.
• Instructions for using the NPI Reporting Tool for direct entry or file upload can be downloaded from: http://maa.dshs.wa.gov/ProviderOne/providers.htm.
• Providers without access to the Internet can contact DSHS Provider Enrollment Staff at 1-800-562-3022 (select option 2, then option 5).

FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, CONTACT:

Tammy Firkins, ProviderOne Communications, HRSA, DSHS, 360-725-1008

Jim Stevenson, Communications Director, HRSA, DSHS, 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).