September 01, 2010 at 08:00 PM
An agent in West Hills, CA asked…
Q: What do the letters at the end of a person’s Medicare number mean?
A: Every beneficiary is given a Medicare number. This number is their Social Security number followed by a code, which is often referred to as a claim number. The letter codes may appear on correspondence receive from Social Security or on a beneficiaries Medicare card.
Here is a table showing the most commonly used beneficiary codes, taken from the federal government’s Social Security website. (This does not include every code; only the most common ones.)
| Code |
Identification |
| A |
Primary claimant (wage earner) |
| B1 |
Aged husband, age 62 or over |
| B2 |
Young wife, with a child in her care |
| B3 |
Aged wife, age 62 or over, second claimant |
| B5 |
Young wife, with a child in her care, second claimant |
| B6 |
Divorced wife, age 62 or over |
| BY |
Young husband, with a child in his care |
| C1-C9 |
Child – includes minor, student, or disabled child |
| D |
Aged widow age 60 or over |
| D1 |
Aged widower, age 60 or over |
| D2 |
Aged widow (2nd claimant) |
| D3 |
Aged widower (2nd claimant) |
| D6 |
Surviving divorced wife, age 60 or over |
| E |
Widowed mother |
| E1 |
Surviving divorced mother |
| E4 |
Widowed father |
| E5 |
Surviving divorced father |
| F1 |
Parent (father) |
| F2 |
Parent (mother) |
| F3 |
Stepfather |
| F4 |
Stepmother |
| F5 |
Adopting father |
| F6 |
Adopting mother |
| HA |
Disabled claimant (wage earner) |
| HB |
Aged wife of disabled claimant, age 62 or over |
| HC |
Child of disabled claimant |
| M |
Uninsured – Premium health insurance benefits (Part A) |
| M1 |
Uninsured – Qualified for but refused health insurance benefits (Part A) |
| T |
Uninsured – Entitled to HIB (Part A) under deemed or renal provisions; or fully insured who have elected entitlement only to HIB |
| TA |
Medicare Qualified Government Employment (MQGE) |
| TB |
MQGE aged spouse |
| W |
Disabled widow |
| W1 |
Disabled widower |
| W6 |
Disabled surviving divorced wife |
| WA |
Railroad retirement |
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