New Medicare Card: Why Use the MBI?

Use Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs) now to protect your patients’ identities. Don’t have an MBI?

• Ask your patients for their cards. If they did not get a new card, give them the Get Your New Medicare Card flyer in English or Spanish.
• Use your Medicare Administrative Contractor’s look-up tool. Sign up for the Portal to use the tool.
• Check the remittance advice. We return the MBI on the remittance advice for every claim with a valid and active Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN).

Starting Jan. 1, 2020, you must use MBIs regardless of the date of service:

• We will reject claims you submit with HICNs with a few exceptions
•  We will reject all eligibility transactions you submit with HICNs

For more information:

• MLN Matters Article
• Sept. 11 ODF Presentation