by Legal and Regulatory Staff
Psychologists are reminded that as of April 6, 2009, providers and their staff who call their Medicare Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system or a customer service representative will have to provide three types of information to verify their identity.
Callers must have the provider's National Provider Identification number (NPI), the last five digits of the provider's tax identification number (TIN) and the Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN). Carriers frequently refer to the PTAN as the "legacy provider identification number" or "Medicare PIN."
Psychologists can look up their identifying NPI and Medicare numbersopens in new window on the website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The new inclusion of the last five digits of the TIN is a part of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance to protect patient and provider information. Medicare issued a MedLearn Matters articleopens in new window (PDF, 69 KB) about the new requirement in March.