Revised 1500 insurance claim form released

If your practice uses the universal paper claim form known as "the 1500" you may need to contact the insurers and others with whom you do business to check about using a new form. The National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) has released a revised version of the 1500 Health Insurance Claim Form that accommodates the reporting of the National Provider Identifier (NPI), an identifier that must be used by all entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
There will be a six-month grace period from Oct. 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007, during which physicians and other health care professionals can use either the current or revised version. The transition will be complete April 1, 2007, when the current form is discontinued. The NUCC strongly recommends contacting health plans prior to submitting a claim on the revised form to ensure that the plans are prepared to accept it. Visit http://www.nucc.org for the 1500 Reference Instruction Manual, as well as other documents related to the revised form.