Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has extended the deadline for mid-level provider credentialing until March 1, 2017. In the last Bulletin we reported that nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and certified nurse midwives (CNMs) working with in-network groups and providing services for commercially-insured BCBSNC members, would be required to complete credentialing with BCBSNC, on or before January 1, 2017. BCBSNC extended the deadline until March, due to the high response of credentialing applications already received, they said.
“We appreciate the quick response from NPs, PAs, and CNMs initiating credentialing with BCBSNC,” the insurer said on its website. “We’re actively working to complete the applications we’ve received. If you have not yet submitted a credentialing application to BCBSNC, please wait to send in your applications until October 1, 2016, or later. If you have already completed your application and obtained the time-sensitive supporting documents, we will not reject your application if it is received before October 1.”
Only NPs, PAs, and CNMs who are not already credentialed by BCBSNC are required to complete credentialing by March 1, 2017. Often, NPs, PAs, and CNMs work at more than one location, and may already be credentialed for the services they provide at another site. In these cases, if the credentialing was completed directly with BCBSNC, rather than a “delegated” health care system, additional credentialing may not be required.
NPs, PAs, and CNMs are only required to complete initial credentialing once with BCBSNC, as long as their credentialed status remains effective. Additionally, a provider’s credentialed status can be applied to more than one in-network location, if the provider has been enrolled with BCBSNC by an additional location for their work at the location.
Please read more about the credentialing requirements here. You may also contact a BBSNC Provider Network representative (formerly Network Management) with any questions about this new credentialing requirement. If you need assistance initiating the credentialing process, or you’re unsure about your credentialed status with BCBSNC, please contact us at 1-800-777-1643.
