Provider reference guide for new Medicare card MBI change
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin mailing Medicare beneficiaries new Medicare identification (ID) cards starting in April 2018. The new Medicare ID cards are being issued to comply with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) to discontinue using social security numbers-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN). This change is intended to help protect Medicare beneficiaries from medical identity fraud.
The new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the SSN-based (HICN) on the new Medicare cards for Medicare transactions, like billing, eligibility status, and claim status. The MBI will be an 11 digit identifier, containing uppercase alphabetic and numeric characters and will be unique to each Medicare beneficiary. CMS is assigning a new MBI to active, newly eligible, and deceased Medicare beneficiaries.
Please ask Mercy Care Advantage members to provide their plan issued ID card to receive covered services, not their new Medicare Card.
As always, don't hesitate to contact your Mercy Care Provider Relations Representative with any questions or comments. You can find this notice and all other provider notices on our Mercy Care website.
