PQRI: Is your claims clearing house stripping away your NPI?

It has come to the attention of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that some Clearinghouses are stripping the National Provider Identifier (NPI) prior to submission of the claim to Medicare. This will adversely affect Eligible Professionals in that these claims will not count toward PQRI participation. CMS urges Eligible Professionals that use clearinghouses to check with their clearinghouse to assure NPIs are not being stripped from claims. If the Eligible Professional determines that their clearinghouse is stripping NPIs from the claim, the Eligible Professional may want to consider other billing options.