Credentialing & enrollment delays remain one of the sharpest pain points in U.S. healthcare operations. Even though providers are more tech-savvy, regulators more aligned, and demand for care higher, many practices still face long wait times, incomplete applications, and denied enrollments. Here’s a look at what’s driving the problem in 2025, what’s changing, and what providers can do to stay ahead.

What the Data Is Showing

• Credentialing a single provider typically takes 90-120 days, and organizations often pay $7,000-$8,000 per provider just in administrative costs.
• Over 85% of credentialing applications contain errors or missing information, which triggers delays or full rework.
• More than 50% of respondents in healthcare operations report turnover in credentialing/enrollment teams during the last year, making consistency difficult.
• NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance) in 2025 has introduced faster verification protocols: primary source checks that must be completed more quickly, monthly licensure reviews, and stricter deadlines for addressing expired credentials.

What’s Causing the Bottleneck

Here are the main contributors to ongoing delays and obstacles in provider credentialing and payer enrollment:

1. Fragmented Requirements Across Payers and States
   Each insurance carrier / plan has its own forms, rules, licensing board verification standards, continuing education or certifications, etc. States differ greatly. For multi-state practices or telehealth providers, reconciling all these requirements is a huge task.
2. Staff Turnover + Under-Resourcing
   Many credentialing/enrollment departments are understaffed. With high turnover, knowledge gaps grow, errors increase, and rework becomes common. Process inefficiencies multiply when experienced staff leave.
3. Manual, Paper-Based, or Semi-Automated Workflows
   Old-fashioned systems still dominate in many practices. Paper forms, multiple spreadsheets, manual verification of credentials (primary source verification), back-and-forth with providers for missing documents, all these add days or weeks.
4. Regulatory & Compliance Changes
   Post-COVID, many payer policies and state regulations scaled back temporary waivers, reinstated stricter documentation standards, and added new requirements (like telehealth licensing, health equity training, etc.). These often catch practices off guard.
5. Telehealth and Multi-State Practice Demands
   As telehealth continues, providers must maintain credentials, licenses, and verification in multiple states. This multiplies background checks, state board verifications, and compliance tracking. Without digital tools or unified credentialing platforms, these workloads overwhelm teams.

What’s Changing, Trends & Solutions in 2025

Some developments are helping reduce credentialing delays. Practices that adopt these early get ahead:

Advanced Strategies for Providers to Reduce Credentialing and Enrollment Delays

If you want to lead rather than lag in credentialing, here are advanced, high-impact strategies:

• Begin credentialing months before planned start dates, especially for new hires, telehealth providers, or multi-state expansions. Under-estimate the buffer time needed.
• Build a pre-application checklist that captures everything payers will ask for (license, board certification, background check, CE/CME credits, malpractice history, etc.). Get everything together before submitting.
• Use technology to automate alerts for expiring credentials and licenses, and to monitor state or payer rule changes. Keep a system of record (or centralized repository).
• Regularly audit credentialing applications for completeness before submitting: missing pieces are among the biggest delay causes.
• Where possible, outsource or use partners for credentialing or payer enrollment services. Having a specialized third party frees up internal teams, brings domain expertise, and often reduces risk.
• Maintain a dedicated team or point person responsible for tracking status, following up with payers, and closing out credentialing tasks. Ownership helps prevent things from falling through cracks.

How Konnext Solutions Can Help

We specialize in helping practices eliminate credentialing delays and strengthen their provider enrollment process:

• We provide credentialing audits that identify missing or incorrect credentials before applications are submitted.
• We maintain knowledge of evolving payer and state requirements, so clients don’t get caught off guard.
• Our platform supports digital credentialing workflows, enabling automation, alerts, and centralized tracking.
• For multi-state or telehealth providers, we help coordinate licensure, background checks, and continuing education across states.
• And when internal capacity is constrained, we offer outsourced credentialing/enrollment support so accounts can stay operational without compromising compliance or quality.

What You Should Do Right Now

1. Evaluate your current credentialing & enrollment timeline for bottlenecks: where do most delays happen?
2. Map out required documentation for your major payers and states; make a universal checklist.
3. Invest in or partner with a credentialing automation tool or service.
4. Assign clear accountability & tracking for each credentialing task.

Monitor metrics like average days to credential, error rates in applications, and revenue lost due to delays — review them monthly and act on them.