Starting April 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin mailing new Medicare cards to all beneficiaries as part of a fraud prevention initiative that removes Social Security Numbers from Medicare cards. According to CMS, cards will be issued on a flow basis, based on geographic location and other factors.
Seven waves of distribution are planned for the Medicare cards. The first two waves are scheduled between April and June 2018, and the remaining five are scheduled after June 2018. Cards are expected to be mailed to Indiana Medicare beneficiaries during the third wave, which begins after June 2018.
Also starting April 2018, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to check the status of card mailings in their area on Medicare.gov.
The new Medicare Cards will include the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), which replaces the old Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN). Beginning in October 2018, through the transition period (which ends December 31, 2019), when providers submit a claim using a patient’s valid and active Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN), CMS will return both the HICN and the MBI on every remittance advice. Here are examples of different remittance advices:
- Medicare Remit Easy Print (Medicare Part B providers and suppliers)
- PC Print for Institutions
- Standard Paper Remits: FISS (Medicare Part A/Institutions), MCS (Medicare Part B/Professionals), VMS (Durable Medicare Equipment)
For more information about when Medicare cards will be mailed, review the New Medicare Card Mailing Strategy fact sheet. Also, to help providers and billing teams talk with patients about the new Medicare cards, CMS has compiled a Medicare Card Messaging Guidelines fact sheet.
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