New Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBI) MBIs are required for all claims and transactions starting Jan. 1, 2020. Out with the old Health Insurance Claim Numbers and in with the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs) as beneficiaries receive updated cards in advance of a Jan. 1, 2020, transition. To more about our medical billing services, you can contact us at 888-357-3226/info@medicalbillersandcoders.com Click Here: https://www.medicalbillersandcoders.com/blog/new-medicare-beneficiary-identifiers-mbi/ #MBI #medicarebeneficiaryidentifies #MBC #medicalbillersandcoders #billingandcodingspecialists #HICNs

1. New Medicare Beneficiary
Identifiers (MBI)
Medical Billers and Coders

2. MBIs are required for all claims and transactions starting Jan. 1, 2020
(with few exceptions). Out with the old Health Insurance Claim
Numbers (HICNs) and in with the new Medicare Beneficiary
Identifiers (MBIs) as beneficiaries receive updated cards in advance of
a Jan. 1, 2020, transition.
As of Aug. 19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
had issued all-new Medicare cards, complete with MBIs, and
encouraged providers to begin using the reconfigured, confidential
identifiers for Medicare business, including claims submission and
eligibility transactions. Although HICNs are still acceptable for use
until the transition period ends, Dec. 31, 2019, MBIs are required for
all claims and transactions starting Jan. 1, 2020 (with few
exceptions), including those services provided prior to this date.

3. This will affect physicians, providers, and suppliers submitting
claims to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), including
Durable Medical Equipment MACs (DME MACs) and Home Health
and Hospice MACs, for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
Use MBIs now for all Medicare transactions. The Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finished mailing new Medicare
cards. The new cards without Social Security Numbers (SSNs) offer
better identity protection. Help protect your patients’ personal
identities by getting their MBIs and using them for Medicare
business, including claims submission and eligibility transactions.
The change comes several years after the Medicare Access and CHIP
Reauthorization Act required CMS to remove beneficiaries’ Social
Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards in a move toward
protecting personally identifiable information. The new randomly
generated MBIs are noticeably different than HICNs, featuring an
alphanumeric identifier, but are used in a similar manner.

4. There are 3 ways you and your office staff can get
MBIs:
• Ask your Medicare patients for their new Medicare cards when they come for
care. If they didn’t get a new card, give them the Get Your New Medicare Card
flyer in English or Spanish.
• You can look up MBIs for your Medicare patients when they don’t or can’t give
them. Sign up for the Portal to use the tool. You can use this tool even after the
end of the transition period – the tool doesn’t end on December 31, 2019. Even if
your patients are in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can look up their MBIs to
bill for things like an indirect medical education. You must have your patient’s
SSN for the search and it may differ from the HICN, which uses the SSN of the
primary wage earner. If your Medicare patient doesn’t want to give the SSN, tell
your patient to log into mymedicare.gov to get the MBI. If the lookup tool
returns a last name matching error and the beneficiary’s last name includes a
suffix, such as Jr. Sr. or III, try searching without and with the suffix as part of
the last name.
• CMS will return the MBI on every remittance advice when you submit claims
with valid and active HICNs through December 31, 2019. Get the MBI from the
remittance advice and save it in your systems to use with your next Medicare
transaction.

5. Medicare plan exceptions
• Appeals — May use either HICNs or MBIs for appeals and related
documents.
• Adjustments — May use HICN indefinitely for some systems
(Drug Data Processing, Risk Adjustment Processing, and
Encounter Data) and for all records.
• Reports — Must use HICN on incoming reports (quality reporting,
etc.) and outgoing reports (Provider Statistical & Reimbursement
Report, Accountable Care Organization reports, etc.) until further
notice.

6. Fee-for-Service claim exceptions
• Appeals — May use either HICNs or MBIs for claims, appeals, and
related forms.
• Audits — May use either HICNs or MBIs for audit purposes.
• Claim status query — May use either HICNs or MBIs to check claim
status if the earliest date of service on the claim is before Jan. 1, 2020. If
you’re checking the status of a claim with a date of service on or after
Jan. 1, 2020, you must use the MBI.
• Span-date claims — May use HICNs for Inpatient Hospital, Home
Health, and Religious Non-Medical Health Care Institution claims if the
“From Date” is before the end of the transition period (Dec. 31, 2019). If
a patient starts these services prior to Dec. 31, 2019, but stops those
services after Dec. 31, 2019, you may submit a claim with either HICN or
MBI.
• Incoming premium payments — People with Medicare who don’t get SSA
or RRB benefits and submit premium payments should use the MBI on
incoming premium remittances. However, CMS will accept the HICN on
incoming premium remittances after the transition period.

7. Get in Touch
Medical Billers and Coders
Email : info@medicalbillersandcoders.com
Toll Free no: 888-357-3226