Frequently Asked Questions

Acentra Health acting as the TPA will provide a full-service provider portal for enrollment, EFT, claims submission, claim status, and manual claim entry assistance. Providers can register and manage their profiles through this portal. Providers will not need to register with SAM.gov or ID.me to be vendorized with Acentra Health.

Acentra Health estimates that starting in the second quarter of 2026 calendar year, providers that were vendorized previously with VA-FSC to service DHS illegal aliens will need to validate banking/EFT information before submitting claims for payment.

For providers that were not previously vendorized, we estimate new provider enrollments will be accepted starting during the third quarter of the 2026 calendar year (July – September).

• ACH enrollment will be managed through the provider portal once available. All payments will be made through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

• All payments to providers in the new system will be made via EFT. The system will identify EFT failures for automated process resolution or for banking and Acentra Health staff to review and resolve.

Yes. A secure web-based provider portal is estimated to be available during the second quarter of 2026 calendar year for:

• Secure communication
• Access to payment and remittance information
• Provider information updates and revalidation
• Claim status inquiry
• Direct Claims Entry
• Submission of attachments and adjustments
• Enrollment and Vendorization
• EFT

• Vendorized providers will receive an email before the estimated start date to register for the provider portal and will need to verify their information. Providers not yet vendorized will need to register and enroll on the provider portal estimated to start during the third quarter of the 2026 calendar year (July – September).

• Yes. Acentra Health will provide instructional training for providers and user guides for system access and use. Training information will be posted and maintained on this website.

• Yes. Call Center and Help desk support will be available between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM ET Monday through Friday excluding federal holidays, including claims assistance, EFT/EDI enrollment, appeals, and payments. Call Center and Help Desk can be reached by calling 1-844-922-IHSC (1-844-922-4472).

• Yes. The portal will support secure communication regarding authorizations and claim status.

• Claims submission to Acentra Health for previously vendorized providers is estimated to begin during the second quarter of the 2026 calendar year after they have completed the initial validation process. Claims submission to Acentra Health for all other providers can occur after provider is vendorized.

Once the new system is made available, providers can submit claims:

• Electronically via EDI
• Direct data entry (DDE) through the Acentra Health web-based portal for providers that are vendorized and registered on the provider portal

• The provider portal will allow for direct claims entry for all claim types and will result in higher claims acceptance rates and faster adjudication. Paper claims and other paper correspondence will not be accepted and will be returned. Mail services will not be available; the new system will be fully electronic.

• Yes. The provider portal will allow providers to submit attachments to claims. Providers can add attachments to claims submitted in the provider portal via direct claims entry or after an EDI claim is submitted.

• Correspondence will be available on the secure provider portal for providers enrolled and registered on the provider portal. Claims submitted via EDI will receive an 835 response.

• Yes. Further instructions will be provided prior to the new system becoming available.

• Beginning on the planned service start date, clean claims will be processed within 30 calendar days of receipt depending on government funding allocation. Claim status can be reviewed within the provider portal.

• Unpaid or denied claims will need to be resubmitted. Further instructions will be provided prior to the system becoming available.

• Yes, providers must resubmit all unpaid claims to be processed. Further instructions will be provided prior to the system becoming available.

• Per Title 18, Part III, Chapter 301, Section 40006 of U.S. Code, claims payment will be for the amount billed, not to exceed the amount that would be paid for the provision of similar health care items and services under the Medicare program under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act. Claims will be adjudicated using the same NCCI edits and IHSC business rules that were applied previously.

• The system will use configurable business rules to identify and manage duplicate claims during adjudication.

• Yes. Providers will be able to submit adjustments and corrected claims via the provider portal or EDI. Further instructions will be provided prior to the system becoming available.

• The Explanation of Payment (EOP) will be generated and accessible electronically via the provider portal as a formatted remittance advice.

• Explanations of Payment are expected to be accessible through the provider portal once available.

• Once the system is made available, Acentra Health customer service and help desk support will answer inquiries related to claims, including previously denied claims.

• Acentra Health will import prior and existing authorization/referral data from IHSC prior to the start date.

• Yes. The system will allow importing of authorization/referral data and match claims to authorizations during adjudication.

• The system supports authorization matching and retroactive processing allowing these claims to be reprocessed if authorization data is available. If you do not have an authorization number, an appeal will need to be submitted. Further instructions on the process will be provided prior to the system being made available.

• Instructions for submitting appeals will be provided prior to the system being made available.

• The provider portal, call center, and eCAMS HCE system will be HIPAA-compliant with audit trails and security controls per Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) standards.

• Acentra Health will follow DHS and ICE incident response protocols to report breaches immediately and remediate vulnerabilities within prescribed timelines.