Practice Management Alert

Question: The sequence in our state of applying for the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) license and then to Medicare could mean that the graduate has been providing services for six months before we can apply to National Government Services with the National Provider Identifier (NPI). The current rule indicates that we can go back only 30 days from the date of the Medicare application. Does this rule disallow new master's degreeprepared graduate nurses from providing services to Medicare members? Oklahoma Subscriber Answer: Under the old rule, physician and nonphysician practitioners (NPP) could submit claims for services provided up to 27 months prior to the date of enrollment into the Medicare program. The rule currently defines the enrollment date as the later of the dates an enrollment application was filed (assuming subsequent approval of the application) or the date when the enrolled provider started providing services at a new location. [...]