If you live outside the USA, you can ignore this post. HIPAA's original purpose was *not* to provide confidentiality, altho the privacy sections are the portions most of us are now familiar with. HIPAA's original Congressioanlly-mandated purpose was to streamline the processing of health care claims and paperwork. The requirement that everyone "get a number" is to fit into this new, more stream-ined process. You obtain a number that you take with you "for life," no matter how often you change jobs. This matters most to private practice lactation consultants *who rely on insurance company payments.* Not all of us go that route, because (frankly) it isn't very lucrative. But getting a number is free, and someday my practice may change, so I will have my number ready. It takes just a few minutes to get this number on line; go to www.nppes.cms.hhs.gov If the hsopital where you work is billing out for IBCLC services, you have probably been asked by your institution to get a number. This may be very much a "work in progress" for us IBCLCs, even the hospital-based ones, as the manner in which lactation consultation services are reimbursed changes from institution to institution. To quote from the HHS site: "If you are a health care provider who bills for services, you probably need an NPI. If you bill Medicare for services, you definitely need an NPI! Getting an NPI is easy. Getting an NPI is free. The first step is to get your NPI. If you delay applying for your NPI, you risk your cash flow and that of your health care partners as well. "As outlined in the Federal Regulation, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), covered providers must also share their NPI with other providers, health plans, clearinghouses, and any entity that may need it for billing purposes." For more from HHS, see http://www.cms.hhs.gov/nationalprovidentstand/ Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC Wyndmoor, PA, USA _________________________________________________________________ PC Magazine’s 2007 editors’ choice for best Web mail—award-winning Windows Live Hotmail. http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_pcmag_0507 *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html Mail all commands to [log in to unmask] To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask]) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask]) To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]