Okay, first of all, the only number you would get from the IRS that you need to process patients is a tax ID number, which all providers (and businesses in general) would have on them. The idea that a provider would not already know his tax ID number doesn't make sense, you need this number for like 75% of the forms you fill out for any purpose as a health care provider.
Second of all, having to provide a tax ID number to an insurance before a patient can be seen has been the process for years. It's a way to ensure that the provider participates with the patient's network. Of course, if you are already familiar with the patient's insurance, then you would already know if you are in network so would not need to check this. But you would also need to provide this on billed claims to get them processed.
Thirdly, the fact that Bachman is claiming that Obama is responsible requiring a phone call prior to scheduling a patient is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You have to make a phone call to the insurance before seeing a patient no matter what, this isn't new. This is how you; check the benefits, verify claims mailing addresses, get any referrals or authorizations in place, check for policy exclusions, etc. The idea that prior to Obama, any old patient could just walk in the door and be seen immediately with no paperwork required is laughable.
Of course, with major insurances, the provider may be enrolled with their website and be able to check benefits, request referrals, etc on line rather than on the phone. But still, you need to take the step to check these things. It would be incredibly irresponsible to just allow a patient to be seen without even verifying that their insurance is active and cleared for an appointment.
