Medicare Blog

what is an hicn medicare number

by Gregg Will Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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The Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) is a Medicare beneficiary's identification number, used for paying claims and for determining eligibility for services across multiple entities (e.g. Social Security Administration (SSA), Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), States, Medicare providers and health plans, etc.)

What does a Medicare Hicn look like?

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.Sep 23, 2014

What is the difference between Hicn and MBI?

The MBI has 11 characters, like the Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN), which can have up to 11. 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.

When did Hicn change to MBI?

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) required CMS to remove SSNs from all Medicare cards. CMS replaced the SSN-based HICN with a new, randomly generated MBI. The MBI hyphens on the card are for illustration purposes: don't include the hyphens or spaces on transactions.Mar 19, 2020

How many digits is a Hicn?

Health Insurance Claims Numbers (HICNs) The HICN issued by the RRB, may contain either 6 or 9 digit numbers with up to a 3-position letter prefix e.g., A123456 or MA123-45-6789. If a beneficiary's entitlement changes, it is possible for the 9-digit number, the prefix, the suffix or all three to change.

Is Hicn the same as SSN?

In order to comply, CMS is currently in the process of implementing a new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) system for all beneficiaries, which will replace the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) present on all Medicare cards.May 11, 2018

What is a BNC number for Medicare?

The BNC is an encrypted 13-character alphanumeric code that is used to identify documents from the Social Security Administration. The BNC is used instead of Social Security numbers or Medicare numbers as a security measure to prevent identity theft.Jan 20, 2022

What is the BNC on Social Security Letter?

On Social Security COLA notice, we began displaying a Beneficiary Notice Code (BNC). The BNC is an encrypted 13-character alphanumeric code that helps our employees identify the notice and the beneficiary, and further eliminates the need to include the SSN. 2004—Benefit Checks.May 23, 2017

When did Medicare stop using Social Security numbers?

April 2019The 2015 law, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, requires CMS to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards by April 2019. “We're now figuring out the best way to mail the cards,” the agency advised providers.Mar 17, 2017

Can I look up someone's Medicare number?

The Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) Lookup tool allows providers to use our secure eServices online portal to obtain the new MBI number when patients do not present their Medicare card. If you do not already have access, sign up now for access to eServices to use the tool.

What is the format for the new Medicare numbers?

MBI will contain Numbers and letters (Uppercase), that will use 0 to 9 numbers and all letters from A to Z, they have excluded S,L,O,I,B and Z so that will help all characters to easier to read. The MBI's 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 9th characters will always be a letter. Characters 1, 4, 7, 10, and 11 will always be a number.

How do I find my Medicare HIC number?

The HIC is a number identifying each Medicare participant. The number is most often a combination of the beneficiary's nine-digit social security number and two-digit Beneficiary Identity Code, BIC. The BIC identifies the relationship between the beneficiary and the Medicare primary cardholder.

Is Medicare claim number the same as Medicare number?

Your Medicare claim number is the same as your Medicare card number. That means your Medicare claim number is the same as the 11-character series of numbers and letters on the front of your red, white and blue Medicare card.Nov 19, 2021

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