Health care providers are required to indicate a National Provider Identifier (NPI) on enrollment applications and electronic and paper transactions submitted to ForwardHealth.

The NPI is a 10-digit number obtained through the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES).

Providers should ensure that they have obtained an appropriate NPI prior to beginning their enrollment application. There are two kinds of NPIs:

• Entity Type 1 NPIs are for individuals who provide health care, such as physicians, dentists, and chiropractors.
• Entity Type 2 NPIs are for organizations that provide health care, such as hospitals, group practices, pharmacies, and home health agencies.

It is possible for a provider to qualify for both Entity Type 1 and Entity Type 2 NPIs. For example, an individual physical therapist may also be the owner of a therapy group that is a corporation and have two Wisconsin Medicaid enrollments - one enrollment as an individual physical therapist and the other enrollment as the physical therapy group. A Type 1 NPI for the individual enrollment and a Type 2 NPI for the group enrollment are required.

NPIs and classifications may be viewed on the NPPES website. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website includes more information on Type 1 and Type 2 NPIs.

Health care providers who are federally required to have an NPI are responsible for obtaining the appropriate certification for their NPI.

Non-healthcare providers, such as specialized medical vehicle providers, personal care agencies, and blood banks, are exempt from federal NPI requirements. Providers exempt from federal NPI requirements are assigned a Medicaid provider number once their enrollment application is accepted; they are required to indicate this Medicaid provider number on electronic and paper transactions submitted to ForwardHealth.