Have you ever been asked by an insurance company to give them a W9?
I’ve been asked a few times, but I’ve declined to send them. I’m not interested in making a representation on an IRS form to an entity with which I have no business relationship. I issue statements (“Superbills”) to my patients that include my TIN, and my patients are free to provide those statements to their insurance companies. And, if a patient asked me for a W-9, I would be glad to give it to them. But I’ve chosen not to send them to an insurance company.
To my knowledge, only one patient ever has failed to collect reimbursement as a result, and my understanding of their failure to do so has much to do with clinical issues in and around the treatment.
You have no obligation to provide a W-9 to an entity that’s not paying you. And they have no right to ask you for one. And they have no right to deny their patients benefits because you decline to give them one. I’m speaking not as a lawyer, but as an opinionated clinician.
