Hi Tom, Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Could you please clarify one point? When Medicare relaxes the requirement for the taxonomy codes, is this just until the HIPAA requirements are fully implemented in October 2003 or are they permanently relaxing the taxonomy code requirement? In other words, does this mean the providers can send 837 claims to Medicare without taxonomy codes but only until October 2003?
As I am sure you know, collecting and creating systems support for taxonomy codes will be tremendous undertaking especially for referring providers. Therefore, it is critical to know if this will be a required component by Medicare come October 2003. I understand that we would need to confirm with each payer whether they would be requiring taxonomy codes or not. I suspect that most payers will follow Medicare. Thanks again for your help. Kathy -----Original Message----- From: Tom Drinkard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 6:22 PM To: Carlin, Kathy (Contractor); [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Taxonomy Codes Hi Kathy, Medicare has filed (or will soon be filing) for an extension to the deadline for compliance with the Transactions and Code Sets Final Rule. By applying for and receiving the extension, they do not have to follow the implementation guides as published in May 2000. Medicare has announced their intention to relax the requirement for provider taxonomy codes and to allow the HCPCS J-codes for prescription drugs. Other payers could elect to stick to the October 2002 deadline. Those that choose to do so will require the taxonomy codes. My guess is that there will not be many payers who will meet and require the October 2002 deadline, however. You should check with your trading partners in any event. Hope this helps. Tom Drinkard -----Original Message----- From: Carlin, Kathy (Contractor) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 9:15 PM To: 'Tom Drinkard'; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Taxonomy Codes Hi Tom, I read that Medicare is not going to require the taxonomy codes. Do you know if this is correct? If the payers don't require them, will they still be required on the 837 claims? -----Original Message----- From: Tom Drinkard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 9:01 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Taxonomy Codes Sharon, The National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) administers the Provider Taxonomy Codes. You can read about their history and background at http://www.nucc.org/Taxonomy/index.html For further information, including the format, structure of the codes and the recently published update, go to http://www.wpc-edi.com/codes/Codes.asp and select "Provider Taxonomy Codes". Hope this helps. Tom Drinkard EDIT, Inc. -----Original Message----- From: sharon cox [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 1:39 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Taxamony Codes Do you have any information about the taxonomy code? 1. Has is been adopted? 2. What is its length? 3. What are valid characters? 4. Does it have any punctuation for display purposes (like SSN, for example) Sharon
