The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing a new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) to approximately 1.2 million beneficiaries. Impacted beneficiaries will receive a letter notifying them of the change and a new Medicare ID card with a new MBI.
If your client recently received a new MBI, you must provide it on their enrollment form to ensure a smooth enrollment experience.
Before enrolling your clients, ask if they received a new MBI
- Inform your clients that CMS is issuing new MBIs to some beneficiaries.
- Ask if they received a letter about this from CMS or a new Medicare ID card. If so, explain you’ll need to provide the new MBI when they enroll.
What happens if you submit an enrollment with an old MBI?
- The carrier will attempt to validate the old MBI through Medicare.
- If we’re unsuccessful, the application will be placed into a request for information (RFI) status. Producer World reports will show these applications as “pending RFI” until the issue is resolved.
- The enrollee will receive a letter asking them to call Member Services to provide their new MBI and you will receive an auto-generated email that the application has been placed in RFI status.
- If we do not obtain the new MBI by the RFI respond-by-date, the application will be denied.
Q&A
No. Only 1.2 million beneficiaries are receiving a new MBI.
The effective dates for the new MBIs will vary, but your clients should start using their new MBI as soon as they receive it.
The notification letter includes the date the new MBI will take effect. After this date, beneficiaries should destroy their old ID cards and inform providers of their new MBI.
Read the CMS press release on the 2023 data breach.
Give us a call at 888-622-9122 if you have any questions on this issue.