The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) required Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) to remove Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare Cards by April 2019. CMS replaced the SSN with new randomly generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) numbers. The MBI does not change the beneficiary’s Medicare benefits; in turn, will help protect against identity theft. Each new MBI number is unique to the beneficiary and should be guarded like it’s a credit card. The personal MBI uses numbers 0-9 and all uppercase letters except S, L, O, I, B and Z. These letters were removed to avoid confusion when differentiating some letters and numbers. For example, number and letters “1” and “l” and “5” and “S” are often misread or confused. Beneficiaries can begin using their MBI as soon as they receive the new card.
Starting January 1, 2020, all providers must use the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) instead of the Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) for all Medicare business, including claims submission and eligibility transactions.
Those that have not received the new Medicare Card with the updated MBI can either call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or sign in to their MyMedicare.gov account. If they do not have an account, they can visit MyMedicare.gov to register, and beneficiaries can either see their new MBI or print an official copy of their card.
For more information regarding the change visit: