Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) Is The New Social Security Number (SSN)
New legislation (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) requires CMS to remove Social Security Numbers from all Medicare cards by April 2019.
Instead of Social Security Numbers (SSN), a newly generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will be placed on the new Medicare cards. The transition period officially begins April 2018 and runs through January 2020. The change is designed to reduce the possibility of Medicare beneficiary identity theft. Upwards of 60 million active Medicare beneficiaries will be notified of the changes within the next few months; with a high probability of operational implications.
Revenue cycle aspects affected include, but are not limited to:
registration
eligibility status
transactions (ex. billing claims)
claim status
Now may be a good time to assess your practice management systems and business processes to determine what changes are required to accommodate the new MBI.
For more information, visit: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/New-Medicare-Card/index.html
About The Author
Kerry Luciani
Business Intelligence Manager for Healthcare Resource Group, Inc.
Kerry has over 30 years of healthcare revenue cycle management experience on both the payer and provider side. Over the course of his career, Kerry has developed a depth of expertise in Medicare Part B reimbursement and has published several comments in the Federal Register.