The new year is upon us and one of the biggest changes in the healthcare industry that 2018 brings is the elimination of social security numbers on Medicare cards. Beginning in April Medicare will be sending new cards to Medicare beneficiaries. There will be a transition period that will allow for use of either the old social security based ID or the new Medicare Beneficiary ID (MBI).

Providers are encouraged to begin communicating with patients early to be sure they obtain a copy of the new Medicare card and update their billing systems.

For more information on the reason for the change as well as details on how it will be implemented, visit the CMS Overview page.