Doctors, be on the lookout for new Medicare cards starting in April. Medicare is issuing new cards for all patients in an effort to keep patient information more secure. The cards will look the same however instead of a social security number, each patient will have a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) to protect identity and keep sensitive information safe. Medicare coverage and benefits will stay the same.

Medicare will start mailing cards in April 2018 all the way through April 2019. Yes, an entire year! Since mailing out the new Medicare cards will be a lengthy process, many patients may not receive their new MBI for a year. In this instance, you can still bill with the patient’s social security number.

Medicare is planning a wide-scale outreach that will inform beneficiaries to bring their new Medicare cards into the office and share them when they get medical care. Make sure your front desk is reminding your patients to bring their new Medicare cards to their appointments.  It is imperative to have the correct information for billing accuracy.