Physician Credentialing
What Physician Credentialing Services Cost
Real market pricing for physician and psychiatrist credentialing: what the ranges mean, what is actually included at each level, and exactly what we charge.
Compare Credentialing Packages Ask the AI ConciergeFirst, Three Things People Mix Up
If you searched for physician credentialing cost, the results probably blended three different things. They are not the same and they do not cost the same.
Board certification is your specialty board. Exam fees, MOC, CME. That is between you and ABPN, ABIM, or whichever board applies.
Hospital privileging is a facility granting you the right to admit and treat there. The hospital medical staff office runs it, and it is usually free to you.
Payer credentialing and enrollment is getting an insurance company to accept you as a participating provider so your claims pay in network. That is what this page prices, and it is the one that decides whether you can bill.
What the Market Charges
Per-Payer, Admin-Only: Roughly $150 to $500 Per Plan
You pay per application. Someone fills out the paperwork and submits it. Follow-up is often limited or billed separately, and the count adds up fast: five commercial payers at $400 is $2,000, and that is before Medicare or Medicaid. It works if your history is clean and you are willing to chase status yourself.
Full-Service, Managed: Roughly $2,500 to $5,000 Per Physician
A firm owns the whole cycle for you. Most also charge ongoing maintenance, commonly $100 to $250 a month, covering CAQH re-attestation reminders, license renewals, and the two-year recredentialing cycle. This is the normal range for a physician going out with a full commercial panel.
The catch with both models is that the published number is rarely the final number. Ask what happens when a payer closes a panel, when your application sits for ninety days, or when a name or address change forces a refile.
What AdvanceAPractice Charges
Flat prices, published, and the same for a psychiatrist as for any other outpatient physician. Which one applies depends entirely on where you are starting.
$2,500 Per Provider — Move Existing Payer Contracts to a New Practice or Tax ID
You are already credentialed and you are moving to a new practice, a new entity, or a new Tax ID. Up to five commercial payers move with you. Payer contracts are tied to the credentialed entity and Tax ID, so they do not follow you on their own when you incorporate.
$3,000 Flat — New Provider Credentialing & Contracting
You are a first-time provider joining a clinic that already holds signed group payer contracts. Up to five commercial payers. There is real contracting work here, not just paperwork: the participation forms and the roster and affiliation add to the group’s existing agreements.
$4,000 Flat — Direct Payer Contracting & Credentialing
Your practice is formed, you have an EIN and a Type 2 NPI, and you need your own contracts rather than a spot on somebody else’s. Up to five commercial payer applications.
$6,000 Flat, or Six Payments of $1,000 — First Practice Launch
You are newly licensed and opening your own practice. This is not a credentialing package. It is the entity and identifier work, five commercial payers to a written effective date, portals and EFT and ERA, EHR selection and setup, scheduling and billing configuration, and ninety days of unlimited questions.
Add-ons are flat too. Each commercial payer beyond the included five is $350. Medicare or Medicaid in any state is $500, sold on top of a commercial package rather than on its own.
What Waiting Actually Costs
Credentialing commonly runs 60 to 120 days per payer. That clock is controlled by the payers and the state, not by whoever you hire. The real expense is usually not the fee, it is the months of a fully staffed schedule you cannot bill in network.
Run your own numbers on the credentialing delay cost calculator before you decide the cheapest option is the cheapest option.
Common Questions
How long does physician credentialing take?
Plan on 60 to 120 days per payer. Some payers move quickly and some sit for months. We file complete applications, track each one, and tell you where every payer stands. Nobody can promise you an approval date, and you should be skeptical of anyone who does.
Can I see patients while I wait?
You can see cash-pay patients and, with some payers, you may be able to bill retroactively to an effective date once approved. That varies by payer and by contract, and it is not something to assume. We tell you which of your payers allow it before you build a schedule around it.
What makes physician credentialing cost more than a nurse practitioner?
Usually it does not. The work is driven by your history rather than your credential: multi-state licensure, gaps in work history, name changes, prior malpractice claims, and hospital affiliations all add applications and follow-up. A clean single-state file is a clean single-state file.
Who completes the CAQH attestation?
You do. We are added as your authorized practice manager and we keep your CAQH practice data, locations, identifiers, and re-attestation dates current. You complete and attest your own profile. We never ask for your password.
Is doing it yourself viable?
For one or two payers with a clean history, yes. It is tedious rather than hard. It stops being viable at five payers across multiple portals, each with its own status process and its own reasons for going quiet, while you are also trying to open or run a practice.
When does the work start?
In-scope work begins within three business days after onboarding is complete. The clock starts when your completed information and required documents are received, not on the day you sign.
Where to Go Next
Every price above is published on the packages and pricing page. For the physician view of the work, see physician credentialing services. For what happens after you are on the panels, see medical billing for physicians. State-level program detail lives in credentialing and payer enrollment by state.