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The Medicare Card
The Medicare card, (the red, white and blue health insurance card) includes the following information:
- Name of the beneficiary.
- Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), as known as Health insurance claim number (HIC).
- Date of the beneficiary's entitlement to Medicare Part A and/or Part B.
Medicare Number
The Medicare Number is also referred to as a MBI number for health insurance claim number, Social Security claim number, or Railroad Retirement claim number).
The Medicare number must be 11 alphanumeric characters excluding letters S, L, O, I, B and Z.
The following codes are frequently seen in MBI/HIC numbers:
M = Medicare Only (No SSA benefits)
A = Primary claimant
B = Wife
D = Widow
Issuance
The Social Security Administration or the Railroad Retirement Board is responsible for issuing the Medicare card to eligible persons.
- A new Medicare card is issued whenever a beneficiary's name, Medicare number, or dates of entitlement change.
- Beneficiaries who need to have their Medicare cards corrected or replaced should contact Social Security.
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