Medical credentialing is stuck. Nobody owns the payer follow-up.

Start with a grid: one row for each provider and payer combination, then add the practice location, application type, portal, submitted date, payer reference number, last contact, open request, accountable person, and next date. Credentialing is not one application. It is a set of related records that move on different calendars.

Keep CAQH and Medicare on their own clocks. The DataSpring CAQH Provider Data Portal guide says providers must re-attest every 120 days, with a 180-day interval for Illinois providers. CMS says providers and suppliers generally revalidate Medicare enrollment every five years, suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies generally every three years, and an off-cycle revalidation can still be requested. A calendar that contains only the hoped-for approval date misses the maintenance work that keeps billing privileges current.

Reconcile names, addresses, ownership, practice locations, taxonomy, licenses, malpractice coverage, work history, and authorized officials against the accountable record before copying facts into multiple payer forms. Record a discrepancy instead of choosing the version that looks newest. Keep passwords, identity documents, tax identifiers, and provider signatures outside a shared status sheet.

Consider a two-clinician behavioral-health practice adding one nurse practitioner to six payer panels. The board begins with six provider-payer rows. One row may be waiting for a malpractice certificate, another for a current portal attestation, and another for the payer to confirm whether its panel is open. The practice can then see which fact it must supply, which submission a specialist can carry, and which answer only the payer can give.

Credentialing services are not sold on one common unit. Some providers charge per payer application, some per provider, and some a monthly management fee. PayerReady publishes a per-application schedule, while Healthcare Inspired publishes per-provider packages and add-ons. Check the current schedules at the links because vendor prices can change. These are two service examples, not FidelicAI quotes or a market-wide benchmark.

Ask what the quoted unit includes: source-document review, CAQH setup or maintenance, commercial payer enrollment, Medicare or Medicaid work, facility privileges, corrections, closed-panel responses, payer follow-up, effective-date confirmation, electronic billing and funds-transfer enrollment, recredentialing, and the final status record. A lower per-application quote can still leave the practice carrying every request after submission.

The contract should also name who holds portal access, where copies and correspondence are kept, how the practice sees status, what happens when a payer asks for more information, and what the practice receives when the engagement ends. The practice should be able to inspect its own credentialing record without waiting for a vendor summary.

For a sober FTE comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a $50,250 May 2024 median wage for medical records specialists, an adjacent record-management occupation rather than an exact credentialing-specialist rate. BLS also reports that wages were 69.9% of private-industry employer compensation in March 2026. Applying that broad ratio puts the median at about $72,000 in total compensation before hiring costs or any credentialing-specific premium. A fidelic agent costs a small fraction of what a credentialing specialist costs. The current rates are on the pricing page. This page requests a scope review and does not quote a fixed credentialing package.

The first FidelicAI form asks for a work email, timing, and one optional note. Those fields are saved with the request so FidelicAI can assess the scope and reply. Name the payer, the deadline, the number of providers, and the part that is blocked. Do not include protected health information, patient data, provider identifiers, tax records, identity documents, portal credentials, or the application itself.

If the work fits, the operating record begins with the provider-by-payer board and source index. Each open request has an owner and next date. Each factual discrepancy is held for review. Each attestation stays with the provider or authorized practice official. The weekly Slack update reports what changed, what is blocked, and what the practice must answer next.

Use this route for record ownership and follow-through, not for a promise that a payer will approve the provider. Review how FidelicAI handles systems and data, browse other work by the problem in front of you, or send the short scope request through the form. A legal, billing, coding, contracting, or payer-dispute question leaves this work order.