Finally, we're seeing major progress in health coaching being integrated into health care. The National Board of Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) announced that a taxonomy code for health & wellness coaches will be granted and will become effective April 1, 2021.
This significant step demonstrates the importance of health & wellness coach in healthcare and basically means that any healthcare provider can be reimbursed for health coaching services.
Leigh-Ann Webster, NBHWC Executive Director states: "Healthcare clearinghouse or healthcare organization that conducts transactions or uses health records that fall under HIPAA regulations is required to obtain an NPI. This includes organizations and providers that use a medical billing company to process their claims. HIPAA requires that any individual, business or healthcare agency who transmits any patient health information in electronic form in connection with a transaction is required to have an NPI number.
A taxonomy code is a unique 10-character code that designates your classification and specialization. To find the taxonomy code that most closely describes your provider type, classification, or specialization, use the National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) codeset list at https://www.nucc.org."
The taxonomy code for health & wellness coaches is 71400000X effective April 1, 2021. Health Coaches will use this code when applying for a National Provider Identifier (NPI).
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coaches need an NPI number if they work for a healthcare organization or in partnership with a physician, and if they currently have the ability to bill for insurance.
Johannes R. Fisslinger LPHCS is the founder of Lifestyle Prescriptions® University, Lifestyle Medicine and Root-Cause Health Coaching Master's and Ph.D. Degree Programs, author of "The 6 Root-Causes Of All Symptoms", Titans of Yoga and Lifestyle Medicine Documentary Filmmaker and a big proponent of Lifestyle Medicine to be fully integrated into health care.
