[NPInfo] Medicare info

[Carla Anderson]

Hi everyone,
   
  I was not aware of this as I practiced in California before under a large hospital organization and did not have my own Medicare number. But when you work for an organization, and get credentialed, you get assigned a UPIN number, + a separate Medicare billing number that is attached to the Tax ID number of the place of employment you work at. This is usually accomplished by filling out 855 R and 855 B forms.  When you leave your place of employment you and the organization you work for are supposed to contact Medicare and cancel that billing number. Then when you go work for another organization, you get another different Medicare billing number, but you will still have your UPIN number. In addition, you will have an NPI number which will cross link with your Medicare number in May 07, and may eventually replace it entirely at some point.  But if you do not cancel your Medicare billing number at your previous place or places of employment, these numbers are still "open" 
 or considered "active" at those institutions, and someone could with or without intent use them to file claims. Now to Medicare it would look like you were the provider filing those claims, and if you were not, and there was intent, this is fraud.  Providers often work at more than one place, even in two different states, so having different claims with different Medicare numbers for the same provider does not necessarily raise a red flag to Medicare...So it is important to close all your doors so to speak as you leave.  I just learned some information recently, and will not go into all the details here, but wanted to inform any of those of you on the list that may not have known this. Carla/Portland

"Colleen A. VanGelder" <cavangelder at hotmail.com> wrote:
  I'm brand new to this email list - Hello!
I'm a GNP in Tucson, Arizona and the weather here is BEEEYOOOTTTEEEEFULLLL today!
Sunny, robin's egg blue sky, slight breeze from the west and 74 degrees... and we can go visit the snow in the US's southernmost mountain range (a 45 minute drive) anytime we'd like!
Thanks for the updates from around the country!
Colleen VanGelder
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