Are You Using the New Medicare Beneficiary Identifier?

UPDATE: As of December 10, 2019, CMS reports that 87 percent of claims include the new MBI.  Claims submitted after December 31, 2019 that do not include the new MBI will reject – regardless of the date the service was provided

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) includes a requirement that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) discontinue use of social security numbers to identify Medicare beneficiaries andinstead switch to a randomly generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).

Starting in April 2018, claims could include either the new MBI or the social security number-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN).  After December 31, 2019, with a limited number of exceptions, only the MBI will be accepted on claims and other transactions.

If you are not already using the new MBI when submitting claims for care provided to Medicare beneficiaries, take steps NOW to avoid disruptions to your cash flow in 2020. For more information, please see https://www.cms.gov/medicare/newmedicare-card/nmc-home.html.