In accordance with CMS' New Medicare Card Project, CMS' RDS Center has updated the retiree file formats to accommodate the future use of MBI. The HICN field on all retiree files, response files, notification files, and covered retiree lists has been renamed to “Medicare beneficiary identifier”, and will accept MBI (after the start of the transition period), HICN, or RRB. Plan Sponsors should NOT submit MBI for their retirees until notified to do so. Submission of MBI before notification will result in Reason Code 13 for Secure Website/Connect:Direct submitters or Reason Code SP12 for MIR/VDSA submitters.
Refer to Retiree Processing Resources in the RDS User Guide for updated file layouts.
Note: There is no change to the SSN field. Plan Sponsors can submit SSN indefinitely.
The Sample Retiree File Spreadsheet has also been updated to accommodate these file changes. Plan Sponsors using the RDS Secure Website to submit retiree files are encouraged to use this template.
For more information, contact CMS' RDS Center.