What does the “W” mean on Medicare?
Other Medicare suffixes in the “W” category include: 1 W1 for a primary claimant’s disabled widower 2 W2 for a second widow 3 W3 for a second widower 4 W6 for a surviving disabled second wife More ...
What does the letter a mean in my Medicare number?
It denotes a primary claimant who is retired and has paid into the Medicare system as a wage earner for at least 40 quarters. 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.
What does B mean on a Medicare number?
“B” alone means you are the wife (62 years or older) of the primary claimant. Other Medicare suffixes in the “B” category include: Numerical suffixes in the “B” category continue all the way to 9 (with B9 being the Medicare number suffix for a third husband).
What are the first 9 digits of a Medicare claim number?
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.
What do the letters at the end of Medicare numbers mean?
After the numerical sequence, there will be a letter or a letter followed by another number. These codes indicate Medicare eligibility. For example, assume you are the wife (62 years or older) of the primary claimant, and your husband's SSN is 555-55-5555. Your Medicare number would be 555-55-5555-B.
What do the letters in Medicare mean?
There are four parts of Medicare: Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D. Part A provides inpatient/hospital coverage. Part B provides outpatient/medical coverage. Part C offers an alternate way to receive your Medicare benefits (see below for more information). Part D provides prescription drug coverage.
What does Medicare numbers start with?
On a Medicare card, an MBI will appear similar to this: 1EG4-TE5-MK73. The second, fifth, eighth, and ninth characters are always letters while the first, fourth, seventh, tenth, and eleventh characters are always numbers. You can visit cms.gov for more information on the format of an MBI.
Do the new Medicare numbers mean anything?
Will the MBI's characters have any meaning? Each MBI is randomly generated. This makes MBIs different than HICNs, which are based on the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of people with Medicare. The MBI's characters are “non-intelligent” so they don't have any hidden or special meaning.
How do I read my Medicare 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 do the letters mean after the Social Security number?
The letters at the end of a SSN indicate the claim number for a SSI or Social Security beneficiary. Per the SSA: "If you are an SSI beneficiary, your claim number is your nine-digit Social Security Number (SSN) (000-00-0000) followed by two letters such as EI, DI, DS, DC.
Why do I have two Medicare numbers?
The front of your Medicare card indicates whether you are enrolled in Part A and/or Part B under the heading “IS ENTITLED TO.” If you are enrolled in the Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) plan or Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plan, that information appears on a separate card and not on your Medicare card.
What does BNC number stand for?
Beneficiary Notice CodeA BNC number is a Beneficiary Notice Code used by the Social Security Administration to identify documents and notices. Learn more about BNC codes and other numbers related to Social Security and Medicare.
What do the letters on my Medicare card mean?
What do the letters on your Medicare card mean? The Medicare number displayed on Medicare cards (known as an MBI, or Medicare Beneficiary Identifier) is 11 characters long: The 2nd, 5th, 8th and 9th characters are always a letter, and the 3rd and 6th characters are sometimes a letter. All other characters will be numbers, and the letters S, L, O, ...
What is Medicare Part B?
Medicare Part B is medical insurance and provides coverage for outpatient doctor’s appointments and medical devices. Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage, provides coverage for everything found in Part A and Part B through one plan provided by a private insurer.
What is Medicare Supplement Insurance?
Medicare Supplement Insurance, also called Medigap, uses a letter system to identify its plans. Medicare Supplement Insurance is used in conjunction with Part A and Part B of Medicare to provide coverage for certain out-of-pocket expenses like some Medicare deductibles and coinsurance.
Does Medicare cover dental insurance?
Many Medicare Advantage plans may also cover additional benefits not covered by Part A and Part B, such as prescription drugs, dental, vision, hearing, wellness programs like SilverSneakers and more. Medicare Part D provides coverage exclusively for prescription drugs.
Medicare ID numbers Suffixes and Prefixes
Most medicare identification numbers you will see end in A. This means that that person has medicare under their own social security number. However there are other ways a person can have medicare and those are reflected in the letter after the social security number on the medicare card.
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With an extensive 20 years of experience in all aspects of the insurance billing field and a vast knowledge of both hospital and private practice medical billing; Suzanne hopes to help others navigate the health insurance maze.
Why Medicare uses a claim number
Medicare once used a beneficiary’s Social Security number to file claims. But the Medicare program loses billions of dollars to fraud every year, and using a person’s Social Security number makes it easier for people who commit fraud to steal identities and abuse Medicare benefits.
How your Medicare claim number is used
Medicare beneficiaries generally do not have to file claims on their own. When you receive care, your health care provider will take your Medicare card and use the claim number on the front of your card to file a claim on your behalf. According to Medicare rules, health care providers have one year from the date of service to file a claim.
How to replace your Medicare card
Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and follow the automated prompts for reporting and replacing a lost or stolen card. You may also print a temporary copy of your card through your MyMedicare.gov account.
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 letters are there on a Medicare card?
There are more than 30 different letters that could be used for various reasons. A new recipient may have a “T” until his benefit is activated at the initial enrollment. When completing an enrollment form, always list the number as it is shown on the Medicare ID card even if you know the number will be changing.
What is the suffix for child benefits?
For a spouse, it will have a suffix letter “B” and for a child it will have a suffix letter of “C”. Both spousal and child benefits could be provided to more than one recipient so in that case the suffix letter will be followed by a number such as: (B2) or (C3).
What is a HICN number?
Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN)—This is the number used by Social Security and Medicare to identify a beneficiary. Social Security is responsible for all eligibility assignment and enrollment into Medicare while Medicare is responsible for oversight and fulfillment of the health benefits. The HICN may look similar to a beneficiary’s social ...
When did Medicare use Social Security numbers?
After 1964 , the RRB began using Social Security numbers as Medicare beneficiary identification numbers preceded by an alpha character. Below are the characteristics for each HIC type. “A” beneficiary (retired worker or disabled worker) “C” children (child or grandchild of a retiree)
What is the format of a HIC number?
The format of a HIC number issued by CMS is a Social Security number followed by an alpha or alphanumeric Beneficiary Identification Code (BIC). RRB numbers issued before 1964 are six-digit numbers preceded by an alpha character.
What is a HIC number?
A HIC number (HICN) is a Medicare beneficiary’s identification number. Also, remember when billing, ALWAYS use the name as it appears on the patient's Medicare card. Both CMS and the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) issue Medicare HIC numbers.