What is electronic funds transfer?

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is a method for directly depositing funds into a designated bank account. If you enroll for this feature, NHIC deposits funds from your approved Texas Medicaid and CIDC claims directly into your designated bank account. Transactions transmitted through EFT contain descriptive information to help reconcile your bank account.

As a result of the 76th Legislature, House Bill 2085 mandates that all Texas Medicaid service providers receive payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT). All Medicaid providers are required to participate in EFT.

What are the advantages of EFT?

• Stop payments are no longer necessary because no paper is involved in the transaction process.
• Payment theft is less likely to occur because the process is handled electronically rather than by paper.
• Deposited funds are available for withdrawal the Wednesday morning following the completed financial cycle. When there is a bank holiday during the week, deposits are available on Thursday.
• Upon deposit, your bank considers the transaction immediately collected. No float is attached to EFT deposits for Texas Medicaid and CIDC funds.
• NHIC includes provider and R&S numbers with each transaction submitted. If your bank's processing software captures and displays the information, both numbers would appear on your banking statement.

What enrollment procedures are required?

The Electronic Funds Transfer form can be requested by faxing the following information to (512) 514-4214: Organization Name, Contact Name, Address, Contact Phone Number, and Contact Fax Number. To enroll for the EFT feature, providers must submit a completed enrollment form to NHIC. A voided check or copy of a deposit slip must be attached to the enrollment form. One form should be filled out for each billing provider number, including an original signature of the provider.

Within five (5) working days after receipt, the form is processed. NHIC then issues a prenotification transaction during the next cycle directly to your bank account. This transaction serves as a checkpoint to verify EFT is working correctly.

If your bank returns the prenotification without errors, you begin receiving EFT transactions with the third cycle following the enrollment form processing. Until you begin receiving EFT transactions, you continue receiving paper checks.

If you change bank accounts, a new enrollment form must be submitted to Provider Enrollment. The prenotification process is repeated and, once completed, the EFT transaction is deposited to your new bank account.

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