Don’t forget: starting January 1, 2020, all Medicare providers must use Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs) when submitting Medicare claims.
From January 1, 2020, and forward, claims submitted with the old Health Insurance Claim Numbers (HICNs) will be denied, and eligibility transactions submitted with HICNs will be rejected. (See MLN Matters SE18006 for some exceptions.)
Medicare began mailing new Medicare cards with MBIs to Medicare beneficiaries in April 2018 in several waves based on geographical zones. By April 2019, all cards had been sent. From the time cards were mailed through December 31, 2019, providers can use either the HICN or the MBI. As of the end of August 2019, Medicare reported that providers had submitted 79% of fee-for-service claims with the MBI.
If patients did not receive their new card with their MBI, give them the “Get Your New Medicare Card” flyer (in English or Spanish). You can find a patient’s MBI using your Medicare Administrative Contractor’s look-up tool, which requires entering the patient’s SSN, or by checking a previous remittance advice. Medicare returns the MBI on the remittance advice for every claim with a valid and active HICN.
For more information, check out MLN Matters SE18006 or the Medicare Fact Sheet “Transition to New Medicare Numbers and Cards.”
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