{
  "schema_version": "citation-answer/v1",
  "answer_key": "medicare-opt-out-list",
  "artifact_slug": "medicare-opt-out-list",
  "query": "medicare opt out list",
  "citation_slots": 3,
  "canonical_path": "/tools/medicare-opt-out",
  "title": "How do you search the Medicare opt-out list?",
  "description": "A source-scoped NPI search of CMS Opt Out Affidavits.",
  "answer_capsule": "The Medicare opt-out list is CMS's current Opt Out Affidavits file. Search it with an exact ten-digit NPI to see whether that identifier appears in the dated source snapshot. A returned row records an opt-out affidavit; no returned row means only that the loaded snapshot contains no matching NPI.",
  "scope": "The lookup reads one dated CMS roster and accepts an exact NPI. It is not a cumulative affidavit history or a Medicare eligibility check.",
  "methodology_version": "citation-answer/v1",
  "reproducibility_note": "Re-derive this answer from the cited government file; no Fonteum account is required.",
  "limitations": [
    "The file is a current roster rather than a cumulative history."
  ],
  "related_links": [
    {
      "label": "Medicare opt-out affidavits explained",
      "href": "/learn/medicare-opt-out"
    }
  ],
  "data_as_of": "2026-05-15",
  "source_artifacts": [
    {
      "source_key": "cms-opt-out",
      "kind": "upstream",
      "file_name": "Opt Out Affidavits",
      "file_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-characteristics/medicare-provider-supplier-enrollment/opt-out-affidavits",
      "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
      "published_date": null,
      "retrieved_date": null,
      "data_as_of": "2026-05-15",
      "sha256": null
    }
  ],
  "published_date": "2026-07-20",
  "modified_date": "2026-07-20",
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_key": "cms-opt-out",
      "name": "Opt Out Affidavits",
      "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
      "official_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-characteristics/medicare-provider-supplier-enrollment/opt-out-affidavits",
      "source_date_kind": "snapshot",
      "source_date": "2026-05-15",
      "limitation": "This is a dated current-roster snapshot, not a cumulative history. A returned row records an affidavit; no row is not an eligibility or participation conclusion."
    }
  ],
  "facts": [
    {
      "fact_key": "source",
      "label": "Source file",
      "value": "CMS Opt Out Affidavits",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "cms-opt-out",
        "name": "Opt Out Affidavits",
        "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
        "official_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-characteristics/medicare-provider-supplier-enrollment/opt-out-affidavits",
        "source_date_kind": "snapshot",
        "source_date": "2026-05-15",
        "limitation": "This is a dated current-roster snapshot, not a cumulative history. A returned row records an affidavit; no row is not an eligibility or participation conclusion."
      }
    },
    {
      "fact_key": "lookup-key",
      "label": "Lookup key",
      "value": "Exact ten-digit NPI where CMS published one",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "cms-opt-out",
        "name": "Opt Out Affidavits",
        "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
        "official_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-characteristics/medicare-provider-supplier-enrollment/opt-out-affidavits",
        "source_date_kind": "snapshot",
        "source_date": "2026-05-15",
        "limitation": "This is a dated current-roster snapshot, not a cumulative history. A returned row records an affidavit; no row is not an eligibility or participation conclusion."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Does no result mean a clinician participates in Medicare?",
      "answer": "No. It means only that the dated CMS opt-out snapshot returned no row for that exact NPI."
    }
  ]
}