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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