This week the AMC/NOMA received information from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding Medicare implementation of the National Provider Identifier (NPI). Please note that the term "legacy provider number" refers to Provider Identification Numbers, or PINs, that are currently issued by Medicare contractors.)
Medicare has the following announcements on plans for transitioning to the National Provider Identifier (NPI) in the Fee-for Service Medicare Program: Between May 23, 2005 and January 2, 2006 Medicare claims processing systems will accept an existing legacy Medicare number and reject as unprocessable any claim that includes only an NPI . Beginning January 3, 2006, and through October 1, 2006, Medicare systems will accept an existing legacy Medicare number or an NPI as long as it is accompanied by an existing legacy Medicare number.