Whats a HIC?
An acronym for Health Insurance Claim number, a HIC is a unique identifier of a beneficiary. The HIC is also called the HICAN (High Can). The HIC usually consists of the nine-digit Social Security number (SSN) and two-character code (BIC) that stores the relationship between the beneficiary and the primary holder of the associated SSN. There are exceptions, though. For former railroad employees, the HIC could be a transformed version of their Railroad Board number, made to resemble an SSN. However, the first position is non-numeric, distinguishing it from an actual SSN. Due to privacy concerns, CMS no longer releases HICs in their data files. An alternate identification number is generated by the CMS data vendors who create the data files for research use, and this beneficiary identification number does allow for linking of beneficiary claims across the various CMS claim files.
Related Questions
- As a CSL, do I need a HIC? If I have an unrestricted Construction Supervisor License (CSL) do I need to be registered as a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) for example to add a deck to a 2-Family owner occupied house?
- Do the new CSL Specialty Licenses only cover work formerly covered by a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) Registration?
- Do I need a CSL or HIC to work on existing owner occupied houses with 1- to 4-dwelling units?
