Medicare Card Processing Must Be Updated
All providers should be prepared to accept and process Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) cards rather than Social Security Number (SSN)-based Health Insurance Claim Numbers (HICN) beginning April 1, 2018. The first MBI cards will be mailed in April, and New York State Medicare beneficiaries can expect their cards sometime after June 2018, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) MBI mailing strategy. Beginning April 1st, it is imperative that all providers processing Medicare transactions have the capability to handle both MBI and HICN through the 21-month transition period ending in January 2020, when only MBI will be accepted. CMS suggest signing up for their new MBI email list to stay up to date on processing changes, including the delivery phases of new cards.
Keep in mind that new MBI cards will be mailed to the beneficiary's Social Security address, which may be their nursing facility. Providers should verify beneficiary addresses prior to the initial MBI mailing phase. If the address you have on file is different than the address you get in electronic eligibility transaction responses, ask your patients to correct their address in Medicare’s records by contacting the Social Security Administration. Providers are also advised to test your system changes and work with your billing office staff to be sure your office is ready to use the new MBI format. If you don’t already have access to your Medicare Administrative Contractor's (MAC) provider portal, sign up so you can use the provider MBI lookup tool starting in June 2018.
For more provider guidance on new MBI cards, please go the CMS provider page here.
Contact: Ken Allison, kallison@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8820