How to Fax a Prior Authorization Request to Anthem
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans require prior authorization for a range of services and drugs, and a provider can fax the request along with the clinical documentation that backs it. This guide covers assembling a complete submission, finding the fax line matched to the member's Anthem plan and the service, checking on the decision, and understanding what tends to trigger a denial.
Does Anthem accept a fax?
Anthem accepts prior authorization requests by fax for numerous benefits, with the destination set by the member's specific Anthem plan and the state it operates in. Because Anthem administers plans across several states, the accepting fax follows the request form for that market and service rather than one national line.
Finding the official fax number
The correct fax number is printed on the Anthem prior authorization form for the requested service and shown in the provider portal Anthem uses for that plan. The member's benefit documents and any prior-authorization determination letter also name the handling unit, so match the number to the current form and the member's state each time rather than reusing an old one.
What to include on every page
- The member's name, date of birth, and Anthem identification number from the card
- The ordering provider's name, NPI, and a return fax for the coverage decision
- The service's CPT/HCPCS code or the drug name and strength, with ICD-10 diagnoses
- Clinical notes, imaging, or documented step therapy that meets Anthem's criteria
- A cover page identifying the member and marking the request standard or urgent
How to fax Prior Authorization Request Form to Anthem
- 1Complete the Anthem prior authorization form for the specific service or drug
- 2Attach the clinical documentation that supports Anthem's medical-necessity criteria
- 3Verify the current fax number on the form or in the Anthem provider portal
- 4Combine everything into a single clear, high-contrast PDF
- 5Log in to Send FAX Mail, upload the PDF, enter the confirmed fax number, and send
- 6Keep the send confirmation with the member's record to document the filing date
Confirming it arrived
Send FAX Mail hands back a time-stamped receipt as soon as the request reaches Anthem's fax line — file it beside the clinical packet. Anthem issues its determination through the provider portal and by fax or letter, and the receipt is your record of when the complete request was submitted if a deadline comes into question.
What’s current · as of July 2026
- HIPAA large-breach reporting threshold
- 500+ individuals — reported to HHS OCR without unreasonable delay Source: HHS Office for Civil Rights
- HIPAA documentation retention period
- 6 years from creation or last-effective date Source: HHS — HIPAA Administrative Requirements (45 CFR 164.316)
Recent updates
Federal interoperability rules keep pushing healthcare past the fax machine
CMS has advanced a series of interoperability rules that press hospitals, payers, and providers toward electronic data exchange and standardized claims attachments. The direction of travel is clear: paper and analog fax workflows are being replaced by digital transmission that carries an auditable record — which is exactly what a cloud fax with delivery confirmation provides for offices not yet on a full EHR pipeline.
CMS →Healthcare breach reporting keeps document handling under scrutiny
Ongoing reporting on HIPAA breaches and OCR settlements underscores how much scrutiny falls on how medical documents are stored, sent, and received. Sending records through a controlled, access-logged channel rather than an unmanaged machine reduces the mishandling risks that show up repeatedly in breach analyses.
HIPAA Journal →HHS OCR continues enforcing HIPAA safeguards on how PHI is transmitted
The HHS Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Security Rule's requirement that covered entities apply administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protected health information in transit. Faxing PHI is permitted, but the sending practice is responsible for confirming the destination and controlling access — the reason healthcare senders favor a channel that logs each transmission and its recipient.
HHS Office for Civil Rights →
Faxing Prior Authorization Request Form to Anthem — FAQ
For most services that need review, it will. Fax sits alongside Anthem's online submission option, and clinics lean on it because the request form and every supporting page arrive together as one document the reviewer reads in sequence rather than as scattered uploads.
Anthem's provider portal shows whether a submitted request is pending, approved, or denied once it has been logged, and the plan also returns the decision by fax or letter. If the status has not moved within the stated timeframe, the office can follow up using the reference on the form.
Denials cluster around missing medical-necessity evidence — no documented step therapy, absent chart notes, or a diagnosis that does not support the requested service under Anthem's policy. Incomplete member or provider identifiers also derail a review, so verify the packet against the plan's criteria first.
Expedited review is meant for situations where the standard turnaround could seriously harm the member, and it runs on a shorter clock than a routine request. State the clinical reason for urgency on the cover sheet; without that flag, Anthem processes the packet on the standard timeline.
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