WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 19, 2019)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will reject claims submitted with the Health Insurance Claim Number, with very few exceptions, starting Jan. 1, 2020. All eligibility transactions using the Health Insurance Claim Number will be rejected after that date, with no exceptions. Providers must use the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).
The good news is that most providers are already using the MBI. For the week ending July 5, 2019, 76% of fee-for-service claims submitted by providers utilized the MBI. The MBI was created to provide greater security against fraud and using it is an excellent way to safeguard patients’ identities.
If a provider does not have an MBI for a patient:
- Ask your patients for their card. If they did not receive a new card, give them the Get Your New Medicare Card flyer in Englishor Spanish.
- Use your Medicare Administrative Contractor’s look up tool. Sign up for the portal to use the tool.
- Check the remittance advice. CMS will return the MBI on the remittance advice for every claim with a valid and active Health Insurance Claim Number.
For more information, see the MLN Matters Article from CMS.
If a patients= accidentally threw away their new Medicare card, ask them to call 1-800-MEDICARE and request a replacement. Patients can also sign into mymedicare.gov to print an official card. They must create an account if they do not already have one.
Medicare patients should destroy the old red, white, and blue Medicare cards when they get their new Medicare cards, but not their Social Security, Medicare Advantage plan, or drug plan cards. If they belong to a Medicare Advantage plan or a Medicare drug plan (Part D), they should continue to use these cards when they get health care services or fill a prescription.
For More Information:
- Transition to New Medicare Numbers and Cards fact sheet
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Provider and Office Manager webpage
