CMS begins transition to new fraud-protected Medicare cards

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is taking steps to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards. This initiative will help CMS prevent fraud, fight identity theft and protect essential program funding, as well as the private health care and financial information of Medicare beneficiaries.

CMS will issue new Medicare cards with a new unique, randomly assigned number called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier to replace the existing Social Security-based Health Insurance Claim Number — both on the cards and in various CMS systems. CMS will start mailing cards to people with Medicare benefits in April 2018. All Medicare cards will be replaced by April 2019.

CMS is committed to helping providers by giving them the tools they need. CMS wants to make this process as easy as possible for you, your patients and your staff. Based on feedback from health care providers, practice managers and other stakeholders, CMS is developing capabilities where doctors and other providers will be able to look up the new MBI through a secure tool at the point of service.

To make this change easier, there will be a 21-month transition period, running April 2018 through December 2019, when all providers will be able to use either the MBI or the HICN for billing purposes. Even though your systems will need to be able to accept the new MBI format by April 2018, you can continue to bill and file claims using a patient’s HICN during the transition period. We encourage you to work with your billing vendor to make sure your system will be updated to reflect these changes as well.

5 steps to help you get ready

Beginning in April 2018, Medicare patients will come to your office with new cards in hand. Here are five steps you can take today to help your office or facility get ready:

1. Go to the CMS provider website** and sign up for the weekly MLN Connects^® newsletter.
2. Attend CMS’s quarterly calls, also called Open Door Forums, to get more information. They’ll let you know when calls are scheduled in the MLN Connects newsletter.
3. Verify all of your Medicare patients’ addresses. If the addresses you have on file are different than the Medicare address you get on electronic eligibility transactions, ask your patients to contact Social Security** and update their Medicare records.
4. Work with CMS to help your Medicare patients adjust to their new Medicare card. When it’s available later this fall, you can display helpful information about the new Medicare cards.
5. Test your system changes and work with your billing staff to be sure your office is ready to use the new MBI format.

To learn more, visit CMS.gov.**

**Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doesn’t own or control this website.