Medicare Blog

what do the letters stand for on the medicare cards?

by Stephania Hansen Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Some other common letters for Medicare beneficiaries:

  • “A” identifies the primary claimant (wage earner) who has qualified for the benefits.
  • “B” identifies a wife, age 62 or over, whose benefits are related to her husband’s record. ...
  • “D” is a widow and "D1" is a widower, aged 60 or over.
  • "E1" is a surviving divorced mother and "E5" is a surviving divorced father.

HC = child of disabled worker. *J1 = special “over 72” benefit, has A and B. K1 = wife of “over 72” benefit, has A and B. *M = has Part B Medicare only, no SSA benefit. *T = has A and B Medicare, no SSA benefit.

Full Answer

What do the letters in Medicare claim numbers mean?

The letter A, B, C, or D following the numerical part of your Medicare number does not refer in any way to Medicare Part A, B, C, or D. Following are descriptions of what the primary letter codes in all Medicare Claim Numbers indicate. “A” at the end of your Medicare number indicates you are a retired wage earner and primary claimant.

What does the letter suffix on my Medicare card mean?

Clients often ask us about the meaning of the letter suffix on their Medicare card. Your Medicare number (also called Medicare Claim Number) is usually your Social Security number followed by a code.

What does “a” at the end of my Medicare number mean?

“A” at the end of your Medicare number indicates you are a retired wage earner and primary claimant. The numerical part of your Medicare number matches your Social Security Number.

What does the letter “B” mean on my Medicare number?

It’s important to under­stand that the letter codes in your Medicare number have nothing to do with enrollment in the various parts of Medicare that are also identified by a letter A, B, C, or D. In other words, it does not mean you are enrolled in Medicare Part B if your number ends with the code “B”.

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What do the letters on your Medicare card mean?

All “F” codes are followed by a number to signify the relationship. Code H — indicates Medicare eligibility due to disability. HA means you are a disabled claimant. HB means you are the wife of a disabled claimant. HC means you are the child of a disabled claimant.

What are the letters after the Medicare number?

“A” identifies the primary claimant (wage earner) who has qualified for the benefits. “B” identifies a wife, age 62 or over, whose benefits are related to her husband's record. Adding a 1 (B1) identifies a husband receiving benefits based on the wife's record. “D” is a widow and "D1" is a widower, aged 60 or over.

What does the letter B after the Social Security number on a Medicare card mean?

The Medicare people simply use the Social Security claim number as your Medicare number. Currently, your wife is claiming benefits on your account. “B” is the symbol the Social Security Administration uses to denote wife's benefits. When you die, your wife will be claiming widow's benefits on your record.

How do I read my Medicare card number?

The IRN appears to the left of the patient's name on their Medicare card. This is not a unique identifier. While your Individual Reference Number is the number to the left of your name on your card, your Medicare Card Number is the 10 digit number that appears above your name, across the top section of the card.

What does C2 mean at the end of a Medicare number?

Suffixes following “C” indicate your relationship to the primary claimant. “C1” means you are the first child, “C2” means you are the second child and so forth. Code “D” indicates you were married to or divorced from a deceased primary claimant. D alone means you are the widow, while “D1” indicates you are a widower.

What does D after a Social Security number mean?

disabled childChild – Includes minor, student or disabled child. D. Aged Widow, age 60 or over.

What does the A on Medicare number mean?

“A” at the end of your Medicare number indicates you are a retired wage earner and primary claimant. The numerical part of your Medicare number matches your Social Security Number.

What does the suffix A mean on Medicare?

Besides the letter A, which indicates you are a primary claimant who has paid into the Medicare system as a wage earner, there are 33 other common codes that appear at the end of Medicare Claim Numbers to identify the nature of eligibility.

What does HA code mean?

Code H. “H” indicates Medicare eligibility is due to disability. HA means you are a disabled claimant, HB means you are the wife of a disabled claimant, and HC means you are the child of a disabled claimant. If your Medicare number includes the HA code, your Social Security appears in your Medicare number. If your Medicare number includes the HB ...

What is the HA code on my Medicare card?

If your Medicare number includes the HA code, your Social Security appears in your Medicare number. If your Medicare number includes the HB or HC code, your disabled spouse’s or parent’s Social Security number represents the first nine digits of your Medicare number.

How many digits should be in a Medicare claim?

The first nine digits of a Medicare Claim Number should match the nine digits of the cardholder’s Social Security Number or, often, the nine digits of the cardholder’s spouse’s, parent’s, or child’s Social Security Number. Whether the nine digits of your Medicare number match your Social Security Number or another person’s Social Security Number ...

What does the suffix "E" mean in a divorce?

“E” by itself indicates you are the widowed mother of a primary claimant. Other suffixes in the “E” category include E1 for the surviving divorced mother of a primary claimant; E2 for the second widowed mother of a primary claimant ; E3 for the second divorced mother of the primary claimant; E4 for the primary claimant’s widowed father; and E5 for the primary claimant’s surviving divorced father.

What does C mean in a claim?

Code C. “C” indicates you are the child of a primary claimant. Numerical suffixes following “C” indicate which child you are in relation to the primary claimant. For example, if you are the first child, your suffix is C1; if you are the second child, your suffix is C2; and so on. If your suffix code is in the “C” category, ...

What does "A" mean in Medicare?

“A” means you are a retired wage earner and the primary claimant. Typically, you paid into the Medicare system during your working years over a period of at least 40 quarters.

What is the suffix C in Medicare?

“C” indicates you are the child of a primary claimant. Numerical suffixes following “C” indicate which child you are in relation to the primary claimant. If you are the first child, your suffix is C1; if you are the second child, your suffix is C2; if you are the third child, your suffix is C3; and so on. In all, numerical suffixes following C go all the way to number 9, depending on the order of birth of siblings. If your suffix code is anything in the “C” category, your primary claimant parent’s Social Security Number, and not your own, will constitute the first nine numbers of your Medicare Claim Number.

What does E mean in Social Security?

“E” alone indicates you are the widowed mother of a primary claimant. Other suffixes in the “E” category include E1 for the surviving divorced mother of a primary claimant; E2 for the second widowed mother of a primary claimant; E3 for the second divorced mother of the primary claimant; E4 for the primary claimant’s widowed father; and E5 for the primary claimant’s surviving divorced father. “E” may be a particularly complicated category given these convoluted variations. In all cases, the primary claimant’s Social Security Number will constitute the first nine digits of a Code “E” claimant’s Medicare number.

What is the suffix for a parent?

“F” is the parent category, with suffixes for a primary claimant’s father (F1), mother (F2), stepfather (F3), stepmother (F4), adoptive father (F5), and adoptive mother (F6). There is no “F” suffix without a number following it. The primary claimant child’s Social Security Number will constitute the first nine digits of a Code “F” claimant’s Medicare number.

How many digits are in Medicare?

The first nine digits of your medicare number should look familiar to you. Most times, they match your social security number. However, there are some cases where it will be the SSN of your spouse, parent or child instead.

What does a T in Medicare claim mean?

Medicare Claim Numbers ending in “ T” mean you are eligible for for Medicare Part A, but not for retirement benefits. This could be because you suffer from chronic kidney disease, or have eligibility due to Medicare Qualified Government Employment (MQGE), or the spouse of a MQGE.

What is the Medicare code for primary beneficiary?

Relationships to the Primary Beneficiary Codes. The most common code is code “A”. This simply means you are the primary claimant who has become eligible for Medicare through paying into the Medicare system for over 40 quarters.

What does C1 mean on Medicare?

Suffixes following “C” indicate your relationship to the primary claimant. “C1” means you are the first child, “ C2” means you are the second child and so forth.

Where is my Medicare claim number?

Your Medicare Claim Number is located on your Medicare card underneath the beneficiary name. Providers use this number to provide Medicare covered services. It is also the number you will provide to the Social Security Administration when discussing your Medicare account and terms. The first nine digits of your medicare number should look familiar ...

Does Medicare Part C appear on your card?

If you have enrolled in Medicare Part C ( Medicare Advantage) or Part D ( prescription drug coverage ), this information will not appear anywhere on your Medicare card, but on a separate membership card that you receive after enrollment.

What do the letters after a Social Security number mean?

What do the letters after a Social Security or Medicare number mean? The Social Security number followed by one of these codes is often referred to as a claim number. We assign these codes once you apply for benefits.

What is the claim number for Medicare?

These letter codes may appear on correspondence you receive from Social Security or on your Medicare card. They will never appear on a Social Security card. For example, if the wage earner applying for benefits and your number is 123-45-6789, then your claim number is 123-45-6789 A . This number will also be used as your Medicare claim number, ...

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