In accordance with mandates imposed by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) bill, CMS has initiated the Social Security Number Removal Initiative (SSNRI) which will remove all Social Security Numbers from Medicare cards by April 2019. CMS will begin distributing new Medicare cards featuring a randomly-generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) to replace the Social Security Number-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) starting in April 2018.
The new MBI will be noticeably different than the HICN. It will be 11 characters in length and will be comprised of numbers and uppercase letters. The MBI will not change any Medicare benefits, deductibles or co-insurance requirements. The new cards and identifiers can be used upon receipt.
The new MBI will be noticeably different than the HICN. It will be 11 characters in length and will be comprised of numbers and uppercase letters. The MBI will not change any Medicare benefits, deductibles or co-insurance requirements. The new cards and identifiers can be used upon receipt.
A transition period will begin upon mailing the first card, and will last through December 31, 2019. During the transition period, CMS will accept either the HICN or the MBI with claims and eligibility transactions. Once an MBI has been assigned, the new identifier will be communicated to providers on every Medicare Remittance notice where you submit claims using the old HICN. You will need to leverage this communication to expedite updates to the patient’s insurance record. CMS will also include notifications in eligibility transactions that will alert providers when an MBI has been assigned. It is unclear in the CMS education whether notification will relay the actual MBI in eligibility transactions, or if it will simply be a statement that an MBI has been assigned.
Providers should prepare for this change by evaluating business processes and identifying and testing changes. You can download the MBI Format specifications document to learn more about the identifier. Whereas most HICNs have 9 digits followed by a letter, the new MBI will always be 11 characters, starting with a number from 1-9, and will have multiple letter and number variations. The new MBI will look something like this: 2N78BB4UR47. Note: While the MBI will be a randomly-generated identifier, it will still equate to Personally Identifiable Information for HIPAA purposes and it must be protected in the same manner as the HICN.
Providers should prepare for this change by evaluating business processes and identifying and testing changes. You can download the MBI Format specifications document to learn more about the identifier. Whereas most HICNs have 9 digits followed by a letter, the new MBI will always be 11 characters, starting with a number from 1-9, and will have multiple letter and number variations. The new MBI will look something like this: 2N78BB4UR47. Note: While the MBI will be a randomly-generated identifier, it will still equate to Personally Identifiable Information for HIPAA purposes and it must be protected in the same manner as the HICN.
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