Give Your Biller Access to Wisconsin ForwardHealth

Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.

Your practice’s ForwardHealth portal administrator gives a biller access by adding them as a clerk: Account, then Clerk Maintenance, then Add Clerk. The administrator picks the clerk’s username and initial password, assigns the roles the biller needs, and then has to get those login details to the biller. The biller changes the password and sets up multi-factor authentication at first login.

Clerk access only covers Wisconsin Medicaid’s ForwardHealth provider portal. It does not enroll anyone, add a clinician to a group, or credential you with a Medicaid HMO. For how those pieces fit together, see the Wisconsin private practice setup guide.

First, Make Sure Someone Is the Administrator

Per the ForwardHealth Provider Portal Account User Guide, a portal account starts with a PIN letter that ForwardHealth mails to the provider after an access request. The person who sets up the account with that Login ID and PIN becomes the account administrator. Each enrollment needs its own PIN.

If a new PIN request is rejected because a PIN was already requested, the guide says to check inside the organization first. Someone may already hold the letter or the administrator account. Find that person before requesting anything new. They are the only one who can add your biller.

Add the Biller as a Clerk

Sections 6.1 and 6.3 of the user guide describe the steps. The administrator, or a clerk administrator, does this while signed in under the right organization:

1. Open Account, then Clerk Maintenance, and select Add Clerk.

2. New clerk: enter a username (6–20 letters and numbers), the biller’s name, phone, and email, plus an initial password.

3. Clerk who already has a ForwardHealth login for another organization: select Search next to User Name, find that person, and select their row so the details fill in. This adds the existing clerk to your organization without a duplicate login.

4. Select Next, move the needed roles from Available Roles to Assigned Roles, and select Submit.

5. Look for the confirmation message at the top of the page. If an error appears instead, fix it and submit again.

Plain clerk or clerk administrator? The ForwardHealth Online Handbook explains that clerk administrators can create other clerks and manage their roles, but can only grant roles they hold. A biller doing claims and remittance work usually needs a plain clerk with the right roles, not user-management rights.

Where the Handoff Usually Breaks

In our experience, adding the clerk is rarely the problem. The usual trouble is that the practice reports “we added you” but never sends the login details. The administrator chose the username and initial password, so the biller has no way to sign in or reset the password alone. Asking for another clerk account or a new PIN does not fix this. What fixes it is getting the existing details to the biller.

• Send the username and initial password through a secure channel. Use a phone call or your secure messaging tool, not a plain email thread. Send the two pieces separately if you can.

• Expect a forced password change and MFA. Section 6.8 of the guide requires clerks to change the administrator-set password at first login and complete multi-factor authentication. MFA repeats every 60 days and after any password or email change. The code goes to the clerk’s own email, text, or phone, so enter the biller’s contact details, not the practice owner’s.

• Lost the initial password? The administrator can reset the clerk’s password from Clerk Maintenance. That is faster than removing the clerk and starting over.

If Your Biller Works More Than One Wisconsin Enrollment

Roles are granted per organization. A clerk added under one enrollment cannot see another until that enrollment’s administrator adds the clerk and assigns roles there too. Once that is done, the guide’s Switch Organization function lets the clerk move between organizations without logging off.

Before working claims, check that the organization shown at the top of the page is the right one. Practices with several enrollments often have similar names on each.

Clerk access is not proof of enrollment. The public Wisconsin Provider Index says a listing does not mean a provider is authorized or approved. If you are checking whether a new clinician is enrolled under your group, confirm it inside the secure portal or with ForwardHealth.

Removing Access Later

The administrator is responsible for reviewing clerk accounts regularly and removing people who no longer need access. When a billing engagement ends, remove that clerk from every organization they were added to, not just the default one.

Bomi asks practices for clerk access instead of shared logins, then confirms the roles work before starting claims. See how to work with your biller for the broader handoff, or Bomi billing support.

Frequently Asked Questions

My practice says they added me as a clerk. Why can’t I log in?

The administrator sets a new clerk’s username and initial password, so you need both from them. Ask for the details from the clerk they already created, sent securely, instead of having them create a second clerk.

Do we need a new PIN letter to add a biller?

No. The PIN only sets up the administrator account. Once that account exists, the administrator adds billers as clerks. A new PIN request is often rejected if one was already issued for that enrollment.

Can one clerk login cover several of our Wisconsin enrollments?

Yes, if each enrollment’s administrator adds the same clerk and assigns roles. The clerk then uses Switch Organization to move between them.

Sources

• Wisconsin DHS: ForwardHealth Provider Portal Account User Guide (P-00952), July 15, 2024

• ForwardHealth Online Handbook: Portal administrators and clerks

• ForwardHealth Portal

• Wisconsin Provider Index