Billing number is the five-digit number that is normally appears on your bills. Billing number can identify either a solo practitioner (personal billing number) or a group of them such as clinic or hospital (see Clinic Billing Number).
For the purposes of claim submission, billing number is sometimes called practitioner number and payee number.
Billing number is called
- a practitioner number, when it identifies the practitioner rendering the service,
- a payee number, when it identifies the person or group to which payment to be made.
For practitioners who receive reimbursement themselves, the practitioner and payee numbers are the same. However, they differ in cases where a practitioner designates another practitioner or a group, such as a clinic or hospital, to receive that practitioner's MSP fee-for-service payments.
Note that all claims submitted to MSP must include the practitioner number of the therapist who performed the service; therefore, a practitioner cannot bill under another practitioner's number. The practitioner whose number appears on the MSP claim assumes full responsibility for the service provided.
To set up your payee numbers, see Setup your Payee Number and Billing Address.