CMS began mailing out new Medicare cards in April 2018. Every Medicare patient will have a brand new card and ID number.Is your office on track to ensure you are obtaining the most up to date information?
-Assess your systems to ensure readiness for new ID format.
-Put a process in place with your schedulers, front desk and billing staff to notify patients, collect new cards and update your records.
What do the new cards look like?
Social Security Numbers will be replaced with new MBIs (Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers.)
They will be an 11 digit random combination of letters and numbers.
Railroad Medicare cards will indicate Railroad Retirement Board across the red stripe on the bottom of the card.
Timeline:
*April 2018: Mailing of new cards began
*June 2018: Clinics can look up MBIs through your MAC's secure portal
*October 2018: Claims filed with HICN will have MBI included on each remittance advice
*April 2018-December 2019: Transition period in which Medicare will accept HICN or MBI
CMS has completed Waves 1 and 2, is continuing Wave 3 and has started Wave 4.
What wave is your state in?
Wave 1: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Wave 2: Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam,Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon
Wave 3: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma,South Dakota, Wisconsin
Wave 4: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island,Vermont
Wave 5: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina
Wave 6: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Washington,Wyoming
Wave 7: Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,Missouri, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virgin Islands