Q: Who is Availity?
A: Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Availity launched in 2001 as a joint venture of two health plans to improve efficiency and reduce administrative complexity in the healthcare industry, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes. Today, Availity’s network serves over 2 million providers nationwide.

Arkansas Blue Cross is collaborating with Availity to develop and improve online tools for their provider network.

Q: Why does Arkansas Blue Cross want me to use Availity’s Essentials solution?
A: Arkansas Blue Cross and Availity are working to streamline healthcare processes wherever possible. Arkansas Blue Cross is working with Availity to help providers access secure information and submit transactions online. By using the no-cost, multi-payer Essentials solution, you can access information and transactions from Arkansas Blue Cross and other payers on one website, with only one login and one password to remember.

Q: Why did I receive a request from Arkansas Blue Cross to register for Availity Essentials?
A:  Arkansas Blue Cross is partnering with Availity to help streamline your workflow and give you back time in your day. 

If your organization is not yet registered for an Availity Essentials account, do it today to get the newest tools, resources, and customized training opportunities.

If you’re already registered for Availity Essentials and working with another payer, you’re all set. You can use your existing log-in credentials to get started with all the tools and features available for Arkansas Blue Cross. We recommend that you and other users in your organization begin using Availity Essentials for all your Arkansas Blue Cross transactions to see its advantages for yourself.

Tip:

If your organization already has an Essentials account, you do not have to register again to start utilizing services that are currently available for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield providers.

If your organization already has an account, ask the administrator to add you as a user.

Each user does not have to register a separate Availity account. You only need one registration per organization. Adding a duplicate will delay the registration approval process.

Before you start, gather this information about your organization:

• Physical and billing addresses
• Tax ID (EIN or SSN)
• NPI
• Primary specialty/taxonomy
• Check or EFT information from a health plan that you submit to (recommended)

The person who registers will become the primary administrator for the organization, typically an office manager. This person will grant and maintain access to Essentials for your entire organization. If that is not you, please forward this information to the right person.

1. Click Register at the top right of this page and follow the steps to complete your registration.

• For registration guidance or tips, we recommend you refer to the demo and quick guides located on this helpful registration landing page prior to starting your registration application.
• Important! Are you a dental organization who submits medical claims? If yes, please refer to the steps in this Set up dental organizations that submit medical claims guide for registering for a new Essentials account or updating an existing account. This guide covers key steps for organizations who are not yet registered with Availity Essentials and those that already have an account.  
• After you complete your registration, Availity Essentials will send you emails that include your next steps and temporary password. You may then begin adding other users for your organization.

Refer to the Adding Users help topic on Availity Essentials to learn how your Essentials administrators can add users, either one at a time, or with a spreadsheet. To view or print this help topic, you must be registered with Availity.

• Who do I contact if I need help registering for my Essentials account?
  For registration assistance, call Availity Client Services at 1-800-AVAILITY (282-4548).
  Assistance is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time (excluding holidays). 

2. Start submitting claims

After you register your organization and add users, log in to Availity Essentials and then submit claims using one of these three options:

If you’re a Provider who submits to Arkansas Blue Cross, AND is already registered with Availity Essentials, log in to your account. Based on the type of submitter you are, you can then submit claims using one of the following options:

1. If you need to submit via direct data entry…

• Click Claims & Payments.
• Select either Professional, Facility, or Dental claim.

2. If you need to upload your claims via the portal…

• Click Claims & Payments | Send and Receive EDI Files.
• For more information or assistance, refer to the “EDI Connection Services Startup Guide”.

3. If you need to send and receive batch files using FTP…

• Go to Claims & Payments.
• Click FTP and EDI Connection Services (under EDI Clearinghouse) and then select Manage Your FTP Mailbox.
• If you need more information or assistance, refer to “EDI Connection Services Startup Guide”.

If you’re a Provider who submits to Arkansas Blue Cross, BUT is new to Availity Essentials…

1. If you need to submit via direct data entry…

• Click Claims & Payments.
• Select either Professional, Facility, or Dental claim.

2. If you need to upload your claims via the portal…

• Click Claims & Payments | Send and Receive EDI Files.
• For more information or assistance, refer to the “EDI Connection Services Startup Guide”.

3. If you need to send and receive batch files using FTP…

• Complete the Availity Essentials registration process. Please note that in step 2, you will need to select ‘Yes’ when asked about FTP access.
• Upon completion of the Availity registration process, use the “EDI Connection Services Startup Guide” to configure your FTP client to Availity.

4. If you send and receive EDI transactions through a Clearinghouse…

• Availity will work directly with your Clearinghouse to manage the transition unless your Clearinghouse contacts you.
• Note: You still need to be registered on Availity to use the Availity Portal tools as needed.

Tip: For easier onboarding, we recommend taking advantage of the training options outlined in the Training and Resources section below.

3. Enroll and receive electronic remittance advice (ERA).

As Availity Essentials starts routing Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield remits, if you are a registered Essentials provider, you will be able to use Essentials remittance viewer to view your remits. 

4. Integrate your technology with Availity to get eligibility and claims statuses.

Select from one of the following options:

• Log in to Availity Essentials, click Help & Training and open a support ticket requesting a B2B setup.
• Contact Availity Client Services at 1-800-AVAILITY (282-4548) and request a B2B setup. Assistance is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time (excluding holidays).

Available now!

• Branded Payer Space
  • Arkansas News and Announcements
  • Resources (frequently accessed links, claim overpayment requests)
• Claims (I/P/D) (837)
• ERAs (835)
• Eligibility & Benefits (270/271)
• Claim Status (276/277)
• Eligibility & Benefits Enhanced Member Search
• Claims List
• Claims Correction
• Member ID Card Viewer (available for some members)
• Messaging
• Remittance Viewer
• Unsolicited Attachments (275) I&P
• Free Schedules
• Pre-auth/pre-review service

Coming soon!

• Care Reminders
• Claims Overpayments (Health Plan & Provider Initiated)
• Patient Cost Estimator

You can use the Crosswalk from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield to Availity Essentials to learn where to find the tools you need on Essentials or Arkansas Blue Cross and which roles are needed to view these functions.

1. Log in to Availity Essentials.
2. Click Help & Training > Find Help > Payer Tools > Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield > Crosswalk from AHIN to Availity Essentials>. The crosswalk topic displays in a table format to help you quickly locate the services and features you need to access.
   
   Note: To view or print Essentials help topics, you must be registered with Availity Essentials.

For questions about:	Contact the following:
Availity Essentials or Availity Intelligent Gateway transactions	1-800-AVAILITY (282-4548) Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time
Availity Essentials capabilities for Arkansas Blue Cross	This who to contact guide contains help information for registered or unregistered Availity Portal users, and non-Availity Clearinghouse users.
Benefits, eligibility, claim status, or payment (not found on Availity Essentials)	Contact the number on the back of the member ID card, or use the contact resources listed on the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Availity, LLC is an independent company providing health information networking services for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.