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New Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers Issued
Q: Medicare will be issuing new identification numbers to all beneficiaries (alive and deceased). Cards will be mailed to the current address on file with Social Security between April 2018 and April 2019.
A: The Center for Medicare Services is removing Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards by April of 2019. A new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the current, Social Security Number-based health insurance claim number. Each person will be assigned a new MBI number and will be mailed a new card. The new MBI number is confidential and should be protected and personally identifiable information.
Social Security Numbers are being removed from Medicare cards to help fight medical identity theft. The numbers will help the Center for Medicare Services protect private health and financial information and benefit or service programs. Beginning in April 2018, new Medicare cards will be mailed. Medicare is building in a transition period from April 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019, where either the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or previous Social Security based number will be accepted.
The new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier will be eleven characters in length and made up of numbers and uppercase letters. Each identifier will be unique, randomly generated and the characters will be “non-intelligent,” meaning they will not have any hidden or special meaning. New identifiers will not change Medicare benefits. People with Medicare may start using their new Medicare cards as soon as they get them.