Medicare Blog

what is the medicare hicn

by Brooke Larson 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 hicn stand for in healthcare?

The MBIs are:

  • Clearly different than the HICN and RRB number.
  • 11-characters in length.
  • Made up only of numbers and uppercase letters (no special characters); if you use lowercase letters, our system will convert them to uppercase letters.

What does Hic stand for in Medicare?

Please leave this field empty. Medicare HIC stands for your Medicare Health Insurance Claim number or code. It begins with the Social Security number of the wage earner under whose benefits the eligible person is receiving Medicare. E.g.

What does hicn stand for?

Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) Law and Legal Definition. Health insurance claim number (HICN) refers to the number assigned by the Social Security Administration to an individual for the purpose of identifying him/her as a medicare beneficiary. HICN will be shown in the beneficiary's insurance card and it is on the basis of this number that a beneficiary’s medicare claims are processed.

What is a HIC number for Medicare?

You can:

  • Get our Open Door Forum materials.
  • See our Outreach & education page for resources about getting and using the MBI.
  • Read frequently asked questions (PDF).

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How do I find my Hicn number?

HICN will be shown in the beneficiary's insurance card and it is on the basis of this number that a beneficiary's medicare claims are processed. HICN is comprised of two parts namely claim account number (CAN) and beneficiary identification code number (BIC).

What is the difference between MBI and Hicn?

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.

What does a Medicare Hicn look like?

Both CMS and the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) issue Medicare HIC numbers. 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.

When did Hicn change to MBI?

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) required CMS to remove Social Security numbers (SSN) from all Medicare cards by April 2019. CMS replaced the HICN with a new, randomly generated MBI.

When did MBI numbers start?

August 19, 2019 We reissued this article to show that all new Medicare cards have been mailed, to encourage providers to use MBIs now to protect patients' identities, to emphasize that providers must use MBIs beginning January 1, 2020, and to explain the rejection codes providers will get if they submit a HICN after ...

Is MBI the same as Medicare number?

A. Background on the new Medicare Number The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed a new number called the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), which replaces the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on the Medicare card.

Is Hicn the same as SSN?

We removed Social Security Number (SSN)-based Health Insurance Claim Numbers (HICNs) from Medicare cards and are now using Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs) for Medicare transactions like billing, eligibility status, and claim status.

How long is a Hicn number?

HICN numbers are made up of a nine-byte social security number plus a one to two character Beneficiary Identification Code.

What does a HIC number look like?

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.

What is the Medicare MBI format?

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.

Where is the MBI number located?

On the front of your Medicare card is a number that is 11 characters long, consisting of numbers and uppercase letters. This is your Medicare claim number, also referred to as a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).

What does BNC number stand for?

Beneficiary Notice CodeThis was a major step forward in protecting the SSN. On the annual COLA notice, we began displaying a Beneficiary Notice Code (BNC). The BNC is an encrypted 13-character alphanumeric code, which is unique to each notice. Employees access a lookup tool to identify the beneficiary and associated records.

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 ...

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 a HICN?

HICN is comprised of two parts namely claim account number (CAN) and beneficiary identification code number (BIC). CAN is the policy number of the wage owner who earns medicare benefits and BIC identifies the current relationship between wage earner and beneficiary.

What is a HICN number?

Health insurance claim number (HICN) refers to the number assigned by the Social Security Administration to an individual for the purpose of identifying him/her as a medicare beneficiary. HICN will be shown in the beneficiary's insurance card and it is on the basis of this number that a beneficiary’s medicare claims are processed.

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.

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?

A HIC is sometimes called a HICAN or HICBIC. It has recently been replaced with a randomly generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier, or MBI, which serve s the same purpose. Advertisement.

What is a HIC card?

Medicare beneficiaries used to receive a plastic Medicare card with a Health Insurance Claims, HIC, number. The HIC number identifies the Medicare beneficiary in the Medicare system, allowing for the smooth processing of claims and ensuring benefits are routed to the correct places. A HIC is sometimes called a HICAN or HICBIC.

What is Medicare insurance?

Definition of Medicare. Medicare is a health insurance program that is a combination of public funds and private health care providers. Medicare is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. There are two parts to the Medicare Program: Part A, hospital insurance, and Part B, ...

Is Medicare removing Social Security numbers?

The Move to MBIs. To fight medical identity theft, Medicare is removing social security numbers from all Medicare cards. As a result, the HIC is being phased out and replaced with a new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier on cards for the purpose of eligibility, claims and billing.

What is the correct HIC number?

HIC Format – A correct HIC number consists of 9 numbers immediately followed by an alpha suffix. Take special care when entering the HIC number for members of the same family who are Medicare beneficiaries. A husband and wife may have a HIC number that share the same Social Security numerics.

What is a 9 digit HICN?

All HICNs issued by SSA are 9-digit numbers with at least one letter suffix (called a beneficiary identification code or BIC) in the tenth position. If there is an eleventh position, it may be either a letter or number e.g. 123-45-6789A or 987-65-4321D4. 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. It is also possible to go from an SSA issued HICN to a RRB HICN or vise versa. The numeric portion of a 9-digit HICN consists of a Social Security Number (SSN). If the BIC is A, T, TA, M, M1, J1, J2, J3, J4 or the RRB prefix is A or H the number is the beneficiary’s own SSN. If the BIC or RRB prefix is other than one of the above, the SSN belongs to a number holder and the beneficiary is entitled as an auxiliary or survivor on that SSN.

What is an MBI in Medicare?

The United States Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Health care providers. Health plans. Every person with Medicare has been assigned an MBI. The MBI is confidential like the SSN and should be protected as Personally Identifiable Information. You MUST submit claims using MBIs, no matter what date you performed the service, with a few exceptions.

Can you use HICN for Medicare?

Medicare plan exceptions: Appeals - People filing appeals can use either the HICN or the MBI for their appeals and related forms. Adjustments - You can use the HICN indefinitely for some systems (Drug Data Processing, Risk Adjustment Processing, and Encounter Data) and for all records, not just adjustments. Reports - We’re using the HICN on these ...

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