The new Medicare cards using the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier numbers have been active since April 2018 and all 60 million active beneficiaries will have the new numbers assigned by April 2019. While there is a grace period for using either the MBI or legacy HICN through December 31, 2019, all practices are urged to update their practice management systems with the new MBI as soon as they’re presented by patients. Based on the format of the MBI, data entry errors have spiked in patient registration and it is recommended that practices employ an on line benefit verification step as these new ID#’s are entered on patient accounts. Starting in October 2018, CMS will begin to return the MBI on every remittance advice. Railroad Medicare is also transitioning to the new MBI with Railroad Retirement Beneficiary (RRB) cards having the RRB logo in the top left corner.
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