MedicaidAdministrativeHigh impact
Elimination of the One-Digit Payee Code
Illinois Medicaid - HFS·IL·Provider Notice
Effective date
Oct 1, 2010
We identified it
Jun 21, 2026
Summary
Effective October 1, 2010, healthcare providers can no longer use one-digit payee codes for electronic claim submissions (837P, 837I, or DDE) and must use unique NPIs instead. One-digit payee codes remain required for paper claims except UB04 forms.
Action Required
By October 1, 2010: Billing team must update electronic claim submission systems to remove one-digit payee codes and ensure unique NPIs are registered for each 16-digit payee number. Verify NPI registration with the department for all payees. Continue using one-digit payee codes on paper claims (except UB04). Claims submitted with incorrect payee information will generate error messages I31, I49, H49, or H54.