How to Manage Clearinghouses in ElderSuite

This article walks you through setting up and maintaining the Availity or TMHP clearinghouse connection in ElderSuite so claims can upload and reports can download. When you finish, you will know which credentials go in each box, how to run Test Connection, and what to change when a clearinghouse login is updated.

For what a clearinghouse does between your center and the payer, read What Is a Clearinghouse? A Guide for Adult Day Care Providers. ElderSuite submits electronic claims only through a clearinghouse—never directly to a payer. Only Availity and TMHP are supported.

Open Manage Clearing Houses

1. Open the Claim Center from ElderSuite's navigation bar.
2. In Related Activities, click Manage Clearing Houses.
3. On the clearing houses list, highlight Availity or TMHP.
4. Click Edit, or double-click the row.

That opens the Clearing House Information window. The built-in Availity and TMHP names cannot be changed or deleted. You normally edit only User Name and Password. Server Address and Port are maintained by MicroSolutions and are grayed out.

If Manage Clearing Houses is grayed out, the signed-in user does not have permission to manage clearing houses.

Enter Availity credentials

Availity issues two different sign-ins. Only one belongs in ElderSuite.

• Availity Essentials is the website login at availity.com (opens in a new tab). Staff use it to change the mailbox password in the portal. That portal password does not go in ElderSuite.
• The FTP Mailbox (also called MFT) is the credential ElderSuite uses to upload claim files and download reports. Enter those mailbox values on the Availity clearing house record.

1. With Availity open in Clearing House Information, enter the FTP mailbox user name in User Name.
2. Enter the FTP mailbox password in Password.
3. Leave Server Address and Port alone unless Support directs a Reset.

Do not paste the Essentials portal password into Password. That mix-up usually breaks the connection after an Availity reset. For mailbox rules, see What Availity's New MFT Account Rules Mean for ElderSuite Claim Connections.

Enter TMHP credentials

TMHP issues a Submitter ID and a Password. There is no box labeled Submitter ID on the window.

1. Highlight TMHP on Manage Clearing Houses, then click Edit (or double-click the row).
2. Enter the TMHP Submitter ID in User Name.
3. Enter the TMHP password in Password.
4. As you type in User Name, the display-only Sender ID box updates to match. That is expected. You cannot type into Sender ID directly.

Use the TMHP EDI/submitter credentials—not former VPN credentials. See TMHP Connectivity Changes for ElderSuite Claims and Reports if you are updating workstations for the SFTP path.

Test the connection

Test Connection sits on the Clearing House Information toolbar (last visible item, set apart by a separator). It signs in with the values on screen. Run it after a credential change, and whenever claims or reports stop transferring.

1. Confirm Server Address, Port, User Name, and Password all have values. The first missing field stops the test with its own message.
2. Click Test Connection. ElderSuite shows a working window while it connects and signs in.
3. Success shows "Connected Successfully." under the title Test Complete.
4. Click Save & Close.

A successful test confirms connectivity, not a correct payer ID or payment. The payer ID is not stored on the clearinghouse record at all—it belongs to the payment type: open Claim Center → Related Activities → Manage Payment Types, open the payment type, and check Clearing House Payer ID. Then submit claims through the Claim Center path on Adult Day Care Billing Software.

Update credentials after a password change

When Availity or TMHP changes a password, update ElderSuite promptly. Until then, submissions and report downloads for that clearinghouse fail. That gap is expected.

Availity FTP mailbox password

1. Sign in to Availity Essentials at availity.com (opens in a new tab) with the portal login.
2. Go to Claims & Payments → FTP and EDI Connection Services → Manage Your FTP Mailbox.
3. Enter and confirm the new password, then select Change Password.
4. In ElderSuite, open Claim Center → Manage Clearing Houses, highlight Availity, and click Edit.
5. Replace the value in Password with the new FTP mailbox password. Leave User Name as it is unless Availity has told you in writing that the mailbox user name also changed.
6. Click Test Connection and confirm "Connected Successfully."
7. Click Save & Close.

Do not send the password to MicroSolutions or Ask Eddie. After the connection works, resubmit claims that failed while it was down.

TMHP Submitter password

1. Open Claim Center → Manage Clearing Houses, highlight TMHP, and click Edit.
2. Confirm the Submitter ID in User Name and enter the current TMHP password in Password.
3. Click Test Connection, then Save & Close.

If TMHP must reset the Submitter ID or password, that change is made with TMHP. ElderSuite only stores what you enter here.

What we help with—and what we do not

We help you connect ElderSuite to Availity or TMHP and submit claims through them. Creating your clearinghouse account and enrolling with payers is done with the clearinghouse, and they support that part. That boundary matches ElderSuite Support.

You must already hold an account with the clearinghouse you use. Credentials come from the clearinghouse, not ElderSuite. A third record can be added to the list, but only Availity and TMHP support electronic submission and the built-in connection test.

Troubleshooting

• "Your User Name or Password is invalid." ElderSuite reached the clearinghouse; the sign-in was rejected. Confirm you used the FTP mailbox password for Availity (not the Essentials portal password), or the current TMHP Submitter ID and password. Re-enter, test, and save.
• Test fails with a timeout or blocked connection. Check internet access and local firewall or VPN software that may interfere. For TMHP on a current ElderSuite version, disconnect old VPN software and test again.
• Manage Clearing Houses is grayed out. The signed-in user lacks permission to manage clearing houses.
• Server Address or Port look wrong. Those boxes are grayed out. Use Reset beside Server Address, confirm Yes, and restore the built-in defaults (files.availity.com / 22 for Availity; edisftp.tmhp.com / 22 for TMHP), then test again.
• Need help finding a screen. Open Ask Eddie inside ElderSuite, or use ElderSuite Support (+1 888.999.8055, support@eldersuite.com).

Still stuck? Open a support ticket. Include which clearinghouse you are editing, whether Test Connection reached the server, and the exact message text—without including the password.

Once Test Connection succeeds and you have clicked Save & Close, return to Process Claims for that payer's batch.