In the Spring, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent all Medicare beneficiaries brand new cards. For protection, the new Medicare cards do not have social security numbers on them. By removing social security numbers, we are helping to prevent identity theft.
New cards should have arrived by June. The new updated cards will have your new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). MBI is already in effect so there is no delay to worry about. If you are new to Medicare, the new card will have an effective date for coverage. Providers should be able to use the MBI right away.
Although ALF’s do not bill Medicare directly this change will most likely cause you to update your resident’s demographic/face sheet to reflect these changes.