Have you heard about the new Medicare cards?
The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has asked state partners to help
spread the word about the new Medicare cards. If you provide services to people
with Medicare (or individuals with both Medicaid and Medicare), the following
information may be of interest to you.
A section
of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), passed in April
2015, requires CMS to remove the Social Security Number (SSN) from Medicare
cards and replace it with a new Medicare number that is unique to every person.
CMS will
distribute more than 60 million Medicare cards with the new MBI (Medicare
Beneficiary Identifier) number between April 2018 and April 2019. We understand
from CMS that Washington residents will not begin receiving their new cards
until after June 2018 (unless they are new Medicare enrollees).
Why is this happening?
Removing
the social security number will help prevent identity theft. It will also deter
illegal use of Medicare services.
What comes next?
Expect more
communication from CMS about the new Medicare cards. You may have already
received information from CMS about the steps you need to take as a health care
practice.
What do I need to do?
Here are a few points to know:
- Get your practice
management software ready to accept the MBI number.
- People new to
Medicare on April 1, 2018, will likely get a new MBI number even if they live
in a geographic area that won’t receive the new cards until later.
- For your existing
Medicare patients, you can use the HICN or the MBI during the transition.
- The MBI number is
required after January 2020.
- The new MBI does
not affect your business processes related to ProviderOne. This is relevant if
you use ProviderOne and see patients who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
The best
way to stay informed is to visit the CMS New Medicare Card webpage for providers.
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