CGS Administrators, the DME MAC for Medicare jurisdictions B and C, will be changing its Medicare authentication policies for the Provider Contact Center in February.

In a Nov. 27 bulletin, CGS said home medical equipment (HME) suppliers will need to use the Computer Telephone Integration (CTI) system “to securely enter beneficiary information before speaking to a customer service representative” starting Feb. 1, 2024.

The bulletin added that starting Feb. 1, customer service reps will no longer authenticate information verbally during phone calls. “We will transfer callers back to the CTI line for authentication,” CGS said.

The CTI system is to be used for calls related to specific claims or eligibility. Authentication won’t be required for general questions.

The following information will need to be authenticated via the CTI system:
— Provider National Provider Identifier (NPI).
— Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN).
— The last five digits of the provider Tax Identification Number (TIN).
— Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).
— Medicare beneficiary’s first initial.
— Medicare beneficiary’s last name (up to six letters, ignoring any spaces in the name, followed by # sign).
— Medicare beneficiary’s date of birth.