Add Your Biller as a PROMISe Alternate (PA Medicaid)

Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.

To give a biller access to PROMISe, the provider signs in and goes to Provider My Home, then Manage Alternates, then Add New Alternate. The provider enters the biller’s name, date of birth, and a four-digit PIN, and PROMISe generates an Alternate Code. The biller then registers as an Alternate with those details and creates their own login. A biller authorized by several providers moves between them with Switch Provider.

Alternate access lets someone work in PROMISe for a provider. It does not enroll anyone in Pennsylvania Medical Assistance or link a clinician to a group.

Step 1: The Provider Creates the Alternate

1. The provider, or whoever holds that provider’s PROMISe login, signs in under the provider record that needs to grant access.

2. Open Provider My Home, then Manage Alternates. The illustrated steps are in the alternates section of the PROMISe Provider Internet User Manual.

3. Select Add New Alternate. Enter the biller’s first and last name and date of birth, exactly as the biller will enter them, and choose a four-digit PIN.

4. Select Submit, review the confirmation window, and select Confirm. The alternate then appears in the Delegates list with its PIN, Alternate Code, and status.

5. Give the biller the name, date of birth, PIN, and Alternate Code exactly as shown, through a secure channel.

Biller already has a PROMISe Alternate login? Use the Add Registered Alternate tab instead and enter the biller’s last name and existing Alternate Code. The manual describes this as granting permission to an existing alternate, so the biller keeps one login across practices.

Pennsylvania’s PROMISe FAQ says this setup is done separately for each individual provider. If the biller works for a group and several clinicians with their own provider records, each record has to authorize the biller.

Step 2: The Biller Registers as an Alternate

From the PROMISe portal, the biller opens registration and selects Alternate, not Provider or Billing Agent. A screen asking for a 13-digit provider number means the wrong option was picked.

• Personal information: name, date of birth, the four-digit PIN, and the Alternate Code, matching what the provider entered.

• Security information: a user ID, password, display name, contact details, a Site Key image and passphrase, three challenge questions, the user agreement, and a typed signature.

In our experience, submitting the security page creates the account right away and sends a confirmation email. No separate activation link was needed.

What Tripped Us Up

When Bomi set up its own Alternate access for a Pennsylvania practice, the steps above were the easy part. These were not:

• The Alternate Code length. The DHS FAQ describes a five-digit code, but the code PROMISe generated for us had six digits. The registration form accepted it once it was entered exactly as shown. When our first entry was rejected as an “invalid numeric value,” the problem was how the code went into the masked field, not the code. Don’t trim or pad it, and retype it carefully before asking the provider to create a new Alternate.

• PINs and codes sent in plain email. Practices often reply with the PIN, Alternate Code, and date of birth in a normal email. Agree on a phone call or secure message before the provider creates the Alternate.

• An expired registration session. Leaving the security page open for hours produced confusing errors saying the challenge questions were missing, even though they were filled in. Starting again and finishing both pages in one sitting fixed it.

• A challenge question you never picked. At our first login, PROMISe asked a challenge question that was not one of the three we had chosen. The manual says five wrong answers lock the account, so don’t guess. The Provider Assistance Center at 1-800-248-2152 confirmed the questions on file, and the next login worked.

Switching Between Providers

Once several providers have authorized the same Alternate, the Switch Provider Number link on the provider main page moves the biller between authorized provider profiles and locations without signing out. The manual notes that users with only one provider location don’t get this option.

Check the active record before you work. After switching, confirm the provider number and service location at the top of the page match the task. A group and its clinicians can look nearly identical in the provider list.

If a provider you expected is missing, that provider hasn’t authorized the Alternate yet. Ask that provider’s account holder to add it. A group’s authorization does not cover individual clinician records.

When the Engagement Ends

In Manage Alternates, select the biller’s name and choose Inactivate. Do this in every provider record that authorized the Alternate, not just the group. For a broader checklist on outside billers, see how to work with your biller. If you are still waiting on a new clinician’s enrollment, see how to check a PROMISe application status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which registration option should my biller choose in PROMISe?

Alternate. The Provider option is for the enrolled provider and asks for a 13-digit provider number. A biller added through Manage Alternates registers with the PIN and Alternate Code instead.

PROMISe says the Alternate Code is invalid. Do we start over?

Not right away. Re-enter the code exactly as PROMISe displayed it, along with the same name, date of birth, and PIN the provider used. In our case a six-digit code was valid even though the FAQ mentions five digits.

Does one Alternate cover every clinician in our group?

Only the provider records that each authorized it. Each clinician with their own PROMISe record has to add the Alternate, and then the biller switches between them.

Sources

• Pennsylvania DHS: PROMISe frequently asked questions

• PROMISe Provider Internet User Manual, version 5.50, July 9, 2025

• PROMISe provider portal