Fellow Behavior Analysts,

There is a May, 2007 deadline health care providers to
obtain an NPI # by the Administrative Simplicfication providions of
the
HIPPAA act. This can be done online (for free) at: https://nppes.
cms.hhs.gov/ NPPES/Welcome. do

Some analysts have gone to get their NPI and found the following
situation:

There are options to apply under the taxonomy of Behavioral
Health & Social Service Providers: psychologists (with behavioral or
DD
specializations) or to apply uder the taxonomy: Other Service
Providers -
Specialist. As some of us are not licensed psychologists, the former
option
appears to be a misrepresentation, and the latter option is not very
specific. Some members of our field have contacted customer support
regarding this and asking that a taxonomy which would include Behavior
Analysts be added (perhaps having a space for the BCBA Certificant #
as
well). Below is a letter sent to customer service. While we may not
need
this NPI to provide services, it may help our field to have the
classification added (especially as more and more funding agencies are
picking us up as providers.). It may behoove us to all contact
customer
service via e-mail, or call the help line to ask that a
classification be
made for Behavior Analysts. Thank you!

E-mail: customerservice@ npienumerator. com or call: 1-800-465-3203

Sample Letter:

Dear Customer Service,

I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (www.bacb.com) with a
certification
number, EIN for the agency, and provider contract agreements in good
standing over the last several years with Medicaid Waiver in
Tennessee.

I have attempted to comply with medicaid rules requiring that my
agency
obtain an NPI from you in order to continue to work with children and
adults
with developmental disabilities through Tennessee's Medicaid Waiver
System
and Tennessee Behavioral Health.

When I attempt to obtain the NPI for my group, I am unable to log in
as
Board Certified Behavior Analyst is not an option in your system. The
closest thing you have to what I do is psychologist, specializing in
work
with people with developmental disabilities. This, however is not
appropriate as I am not, nor are the colleagues in my group, licensed
psychologists and we do not wish to represent ourselves as such.

Many state medicaid waiver systems now approve Board Certified
Behavior
Analysts as providers of Applied Behavior Analysis services and many
people
have benefitted from those services. Please help us comply with the
NPI
requirement so that the children and adults with special needs who
require
our services do not experience a lapse in service due to system
problems
with obtaining an NPI. Thank you for your consideration. I look
forward to
hearing from you and learning how best to comply with this
requirement.