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What you need to do

If your practice sees clients with Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) plans, there are two things to do:
  1. Register your practice. Every practice must be registered as a non-participating provider with each Local / Host Blue Plan required for its applicable practice or claim-service location before claims can process.
  2. Prepare clients for paper-check reimbursement. BCBS plans reimburse clients by paper check directly from the insurance company. Thrizer Pay and OON Pay direct deposit are not available for BCBS clients.
Registration creates an out-of-network provider profile, not an in-network contract. These requirements apply across the BCBS umbrella, including companies with other names; see which plans are affected. Start with the checklist below, then find your registration guide. Already registered? Go to confirmation and next steps.

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Before you register

For BCBS claims through Thrizer, your client pays the full session fee and receives any insurance reimbursement. Registering your practice does not mean asking the insurer to pay your practice.If the registration form appears to require payment to your practice or assignment of your client’s reimbursement, ask the payer how to register for member reimbursement before continuing.
Have the following information ready:
  • The practice’s Tax ID (TIN)
  • Each applicable rendering provider’s NPI
  • The applicable practice or claim-service address
Register the practice and associate its clinicians. Use the practice’s TIN and include each rendering provider’s NPI. Clinicians in a group do not need to establish separate practices. Some plans require additional practitioner enrollment forms before those clinicians can be linked to the group.Solo practitioners: if you practice under your own name and use your individual NPI and SSN or a sole-proprietor EIN as your Tax ID, register yourself as the practice. Your individual NPI serves as both the practice and rendering provider identifier.
Associate, pre-licensed, or supervised clinician? Before proceeding, check the additional eligibility and claim requirements. Practice registration alone does not confirm that the payer recognizes every clinician.

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Find and register with your Local / Host Plan

Your Local / Host Plan is the Blue company for your applicable practice or claim-service location. It may differ from the client’s Home Plan shown on their insurance card. For each required plan, choose the applicable registration route: use a matching guide in step 2, or use the fallback in steps 3–6 if no guide applies or the required plan is unclear. After completing each applicable route, return to step 7 for confirmation and follow-up.
1

Identify the location used for the claim

Use the exact practice or claim-service location under which you bill. Do not use the client’s home address. Holding a license in a state does not by itself require registration there. If your practice bills under more than one service location, repeat these steps for each applicable location.
2

Check for a plan-specific guide

Find your required plan below. Location helps you find a guide; a listing does not mean that every Blue company in that state uses the same process.California: complete both registrations. They are separate plans; completing one does not register you with the other.Follow your plan’s guide, including its solo/group instructions and any required clinician enrollment. Complete a separate application for each required plan. Once each registration is confirmed, skip the fallback steps and return to step 7.No matching guide, or unsure which plan applies? Continue to step 3. Do not use another plan’s form because the names are similar.
3

Use Availity when no plan-specific guide applies

Create or sign in to Availity Essentials. Open Payer Spaces, choose the applicable Blue plan, and look for its non-participating-provider registration process. The available applications and labels vary by plan.Some Blue plans use their own provider portal. Follow the applicable plan’s instructions. If you do not see Payer Spaces, contact Availity for help with access.Creating a portal account or adding your practice to Availity does not register your practice with the payer. Electronic funds transfer (EFT), electronic remittance advice (ERA), and transaction enrollment are separate setup steps, not substitutes for provider registration. Follow any payer-required setup steps, but do not treat them alone as confirmation that your provider record is active.If you cannot find the right process, ask the payer: “We need to establish a nonparticipating provider record for claims processing, not join your network. Which process should our practice use?”
4

Use the BCBSA directory as a backup

If Availity does not make the applicable plan or registration process clear, open the BCBSA Local Blue Cross and Blue Shield Companies directory. In Find Your Local BCBS Company, enter the ZIP code for the applicable practice or claim-service location and select Submit.Do not use the 3-letter prefix field to select a provider-registration plan. That prefix appears on the client’s insurance card and identifies the client’s Home Plan, not your practice’s Local / Host Plan.
5

Register with every returned company

The directory usually returns one company but may return more than one. If multiple companies appear for the applicable practice or claim-service ZIP code, register your practice with every company shown.If you are unsure which practice or claim-service location applies, including for telehealth, contact BlueCard provider services before searching. Do not select only one company from multiple results or use the plan shown on the client’s insurance card to exclude a returned company.
6

Complete non-participating-provider registration

Use a matching plan-specific guide when available. Otherwise, complete registration through Availity or the provider website for each applicable plan, including every company returned by the BCBSA directory search.
Choose the out-of-network or non-participating option. Some enrollment pages also describe joining the network, but that is a separate process. Do not select in-network participation or sign a network contract as a substitute for non-participating registration.
7

Notify Thrizer after each registration is confirmed

Keep your submission confirmation and any case number. Ask each required plan to confirm that your practice record and required clinician affiliations are active. A submission receipt alone does not confirm that registration is complete.Once each required Local / Host Plan confirms that registration is active, contact Thrizer support through your Thrizer account. Support can review affected claims; whether a claim should be resubmitted depends on its status, as explained below.

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After registration

Registration usually takes up to one month to be confirmed. Actual timing varies and is controlled by each applicable Local / Host Blue Plan. Contact the relevant plan or Availity support for account-specific status questions. Once each required plan confirms that registration is active:
  • A claim rejected or denied because registration was missing may be resubmitted if the claim is otherwise supported. Resubmissions remain subject to the plan’s timely-filing window and normal processing rules.
  • A pending or stalled claim continues through the standard claim process. Do not have it resubmitted only because registration became active. Thrizer will continue monitoring it.
  • An eligible claim that has not been submitted follows the normal claim-submission process.
Active registration does not guarantee claim approval or reimbursement. BCBS determines the final outcome.

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Special situations and questions

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When a plan requires different registration steps

Follow the applicable plan’s official registration instructions when they differ from our general guidance. Use the official sources linked in our plan-specific instructions to check the requirement. These differences do not change the claim structure Thrizer supports or guarantee reimbursement. Blue Cross NC: a group roster alone does not enroll a clinician who has never enrolled with Blue Cross NC. Follow the Blue Cross NC registration guide for the individual-enrollment and group-affiliation sequence, exact out-of-network choices, and official sources.

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Associate, pre-licensed, or supervised clinicians

Practice registration does not by itself confirm that a Blue plan recognizes every practitioner category as an out-of-network rendering provider.
  • Ask the applicable Local / Host Blue Plan or its behavioral-health administrator whether it will register or recognize the clinician as an out-of-network rendering provider. A participating-network eligibility or independent-licensure rule does not necessarily establish the plan’s out-of-network policy.
  • Thrizer’s standard claim uses the clinician who provided the service and that clinician’s individual NPI as the rendering provider. A practice Tax ID or group NPI does not replace it. The standard claim does not include a supervising-provider NPI or separate rendering and supervising fields.
  • If the plan separately requests supervising-provider information after submission, contact Thrizer support through your Thrizer account. Support may be able to provide that information through manual follow-up, but cannot change the rendering provider on the claim or guarantee payer acceptance.
  • If the plan requires the supervisor’s NPI as part of the claim itself, Thrizer cannot offer a different standard claim structure.

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Do not wait for a Thrizer registration notice

Thrizer does not track or verify whether your practice completed BCBS provider registration. Registration is required for supported BCBS umbrella claims even when Thrizer or the payer has not surfaced a registration notice. A benefit check evaluates the client’s benefits, not the practice’s provider record. The practice must complete each required registration; Thrizer cannot resolve a missing-registration denial on your behalf. BCBS may delay or deny claims when registration is incomplete. After all required plans confirm active registration, follow step 7.

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What Thrizer handles

  • Thrizer continues to submit eligible claims for BCBS clients and monitors pending claims.
  • For plan-selection, registration-status, state-specific, or Availity access questions, contact the relevant Blue Plan, BlueCard provider services, or Availity support.
  • If this process changes on Thrizer’s side, Thrizer will share an update.

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How reimbursement works

BCBS plans do not permit third-party entities like Thrizer to receive reimbursement on a client’s behalf. Thrizer Pay and OON Pay direct deposit are therefore not available for BCBS umbrella plans. Clients receive reimbursement by paper check directly from their insurance company.

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Which plans are affected

This applies to all plans under the BCBS umbrella, including plans administered by Elevance Health. Known examples include Anthem BCBS, Carelon, NYSHIP (administered by Carelon), Wellpoint, Empire BCBS, Highmark BCBS, Horizon BCBS, BCBS of Massachusetts, BCBS of Texas, BCBS of Illinois, and other regional BCBS plans. These examples are not exhaustive. Benefit-check results show the reimbursement methods for the client’s specific plan.

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What changes for clients

  • Clinicians charge as usual, and Thrizer still submits eligible claims automatically after each OON Pay charge.
  • Clients use OON Pay and pay the clinician’s full session rate upfront.
  • Clients previously on Thrizer Pay move to OON Pay for future sessions. Existing completed charges are not relabeled.
  • Clients previously using OON Pay direct deposit receive reimbursement by paper check instead.
  • Reimbursement often arrives in about 6 weeks, but the insurer controls claim approval, the reimbursement amount, check delivery, and timing. The 6-week estimate is not a guarantee.
  • The insurer mails the check using the address in its own records. Clients should confirm or update their mailing address directly with the insurer. Thrizer cannot redirect a payer-issued check.

Which insurance companies does Thrizer work with?

See Thrizer’s insurance company reference, including BCBS plans.

How to submit a claim

Learn how claims are submitted through Thrizer and when submission is automatic.

Claims processing timeline

Understand typical claim processing timelines and why claim outcomes can vary.

How Thrizer Pay works

Learn how Thrizer Pay normally works when it is available for a client’s plan.