Keys To Preparing Your Practice For New Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers

I recently received a notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the new Medicare card they will be issuing to members.

To help combat medical fraud and identity theft, the card will have a unique, randomly assigned 11-character combination of numbers and uppercase letters, known as a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). Since the number is randomly generated, there is no connection to any personal identifying information. This new number will replace the Social Security-based number currently on all Medicare cards and it is meant to protect the personal information of Medicare beneficiaries.

The CMS will begin mailing the newly designed Medicare cards in April 2018 and will replace all cards by April 2019. Medicare beneficiaries are to start using this new card immediately upon receipt. The CMS is developing online tools to help providers access the Medicare number when needed.

Here are some considerations to take into account with this change.

• Check with your practice management software vendor to make sure the billing software is able to recognize the new MBI. The current software at my practice recognizes 10 numbers and a letter generally at the end of the sequence. Will your vendor need to update its software?

• Put notices up at the front desk as the time gets closer to the April 2018 date, reminding patients to bring in their new Medicare card as soon as they get it. Otherwise there may be some rejected claims. Hang posters and other information that CMS will make available in the fall to help remind patients and staff.

• Since the cards are mailing out over a one-year period, and there will be overlap with patients using the old and new cards, speak to your vendor and ensure the software will recognize both the current Medicare and the new Medicare card numbering to prevent billing glitches.

• Train the front office staff on asking for the new cards and reminding patients to bring their new cards.

• Visit the Medicare Learning Network for free educational materials about CMS’s programs and policies, and sign up for CMS’s weekly Medicare Learning Network Connects newsletter.

• Verify the addresses for all of your Medicare patients. If the ones on file are different than the Medicare address on electronic eligibility transactions, ask patients to contact Social Security to update their Medicare records.

• Test system changes and work with the billing software vendor and billing staff to ensure readiness for the new MBI format.