As a part of the MACRA 2015, CMS is required to remove the Social Security number or SSN from Medicare cards by April 2019. New Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the SSN.
Be prepared!
CMS is currently working with all parties that use the current Medicare ID number to advise and initiate this change. Medicare recipients will begin to receive new Medicare ID cards in the spring of next year and all recipients should have received a new card by the end of December 2018.
The new ID numbers will be random, 11 character-in- length, made up numbers and upper case letters. The suffixes that currently identify the primary individual or “source” e.g. husband, parent, self-disabled, will no longer be used.
Make sure that your patients and staff are aware of these pending changes. Reach out to vendors or other parties you are affiliated with who are receiving or using Medicare ID information to be sure they are aware of the changes and will be ready. The local Part B Medicare MAC for New York State and Connecticut, NGS Medicare, will be keeping providers updated on the transition progress. If you are a Medicare provider, you or your staff should be sure to be enrolled in the NGS listserv for continuing updates.
