Effective October 25, 2008, when a recipient’s Social Security Number (SSN) and issue date are submitted on either a Spend Down transaction that certifies eligibility for Medi-Cal benefits or on an Eligibility Inquiry, the “Application Response” page will display the following:

• The Subscriber ID field will display the recipient’s Benefits Identification Card (BIC) number instead of the submitted SSN and;
• A new Submitted ID field will now display the submitted SSN along with a “Subscriber ID Updated” message confirming the subscriber ID changes.

Use of Social Security Numbers
The Deparment of Health Care Services (DHCS) recognizes the importance of protecting the identity and the health information of its recipients and strongly encourages all providers to avoid using a recipient’s SSN whenever possible.