Major Credentialing Change: CAQH Becomes Optum’s Official Update Platform

05/06/2026

Optum Transitions All Provider Updates to CAQH Starting May 1


Optum has announced a significant shift in how it collects and verifies provider information. Beginning May 1, 2026, CAQH ProView will become the sole platform for submitting demographic updates and confirming practice locations — replacing the previous process of direct written notification to Optum.


Go-live: May 1, 2026 

Platform: CAQH ProView 

Regulatory basis: CMS / CAA 


Why This Is Happening

The move is part of Optum's alignment with CMS regulations and the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), which call for standardized, regularly verified provider data. By centralizing updates through CAQH — already widely used across the industry — Optum aims to keep its provider directories accurate and compliant. Providers remain contractually required to report any changes to practice demographics; the difference is that CAQH is now the designated channel for doing so.


What Requires an Update in CAQH

  • Any of the following changes should prompt an immediate update to your CAQH profile:
  • Practice location, billing address, appointment phone, or secure fax
  • Accepting new patients status at each location
  • Ownership changes for a facility, agency, or group
  • Licensure actions — suspension, revocation, probation, or voluntary relinquishment
  • Professional liability insurance status
  • Malpractice actions or licensing board complaint filings
  • Tax Identification Number (TIN) used for claims
  • Changes to programs or services offered


New: Directory Reconciliation via CAQH

Starting April 1, 2026 — before the main go-live — CAQH ProView will begin presenting providers with a list of locations currently published in Optum's directories but absent from their profile. Providers must review each entry and either accept it (adding the location to their profile) or reject it (triggering its removal from Optum's directory). This step is critical: ignoring these prompts can result in a provider being dropped from the directory entirely.


How to Update Your Profile Now

  1. Go to proview.caqh.org and log in to your account. 
  2. Navigate to Profile Data → Practice Locations and add every location where you currently — or plan to — see patients. 
  3. Review any locations flagged by CAQH under the directory reconciliation workflow and accept or reject each listing. 
  4. Make a habit of re-attesting your profile regularly — CAQH will send periodic verification requests that require a timely response. 


TIN changes are the one exception. Do not submit Tax ID updates through CAQH. Send all TIN changes directly to Optum's Network inbox at network_physicalhealth@optum.com. 


Questions?

Reach the CAQH Provider Help Desk at 888-599-1771. For TIN changes only, contact Optum directly at network_physicalhealth@optum.com.

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