NPI: Adult Day Health Care Centers Now Required to Apply for an NPI
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) formerly interpreted Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) centers as "atypical" providers, and therefore had published notices stating that ADHC centers were not required to register a National Provider Identifier (NPI) with DHCS or use an NPI on HIPAA covered transactions. After further evaluation of the ADHC centers' scope of services available under the Medi-Cal benefit structure, as they relate to the NPI final rule, DHCS has determined that ADHC centers are health care providers. As a result, ADHC centers are now required to apply for an NPI from the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), register it with Medi-Cal, and use it in HIPAA covered transactions with Medi-Cal.