Overview

Access CMS' enrollment database to gather your prospect's enrollment history.

Walkthrough: Beneficiary Lookup and Automated Application Confirmation

Beneficiary Lookup Process

The new beneficiary lookup feature is located under Add contact.

📣 IMPORTANT NOTE: For compliance reasons, this feature is only available for new contacts.

If the agent chooses to use the beneficiary lookup, they will be shown a script that must be repeated to the beneficiary. The agent must then input the beneficiaries agreement.

When the agent selects to use the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), they will be prompted to enter the information.

After submitting the MBI, the agent will see the initial contact data and any available LIS data that CMS has on file for them. This data supersedes any data they may have already input; however, the agent can edit this saved data. The add contact flow then proceeds as normal.

Once the contact is created, agents will then be able to view the rest of the data, such as Plan history and Additional beneficiary details, which will include entitlement and eligibility periods, uncovered months, and any other LIS history.

How to help beneficiaries find their MBI

Starting May 11th, Spark will no longer support beneficiary lookup using SSN. Agents will need to use MBIs. This is due to new CMS requirements. Spark is actively exploring alternative solutions to streamline beneficiary lookups.

If a beneficiary cannot find their Medicare card, help them find their MBI through one of the following methods:

Log in to their Medicare account online: Beneficiaries can sign into their account on Medicare.gov to securely view their MBI.
Contact Medicare directly: Beneficiaries can call 1-800-MEDICARE for assistance retrieving their MBI.
Check official documents: The MBI may be listed on Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs) or other official correspondence received from Medicare.

Important: To ensure accuracy and compliance, the MBI should always be provided directly by the beneficiary.

Troubleshooting

MBI Lookup

Error: Invalid Beneficiary Identifier

What it means: The system couldn’t find the beneficiary because the MBI, HICN, or RRB number entered is invalid.

Action: Double-check the number and try again.

Error: "BEQ lookup Failed. Please try again later”

What it means: This is a temporary system error.

Action: Wait 2 minutes, retry the request.

Error: “We are experiencing a high volume of requests. Please try again later”

What it means: This is a temporary system error.

Action: Wait 2 minutes, retry the request.

Error: Request to MBIInquiry API timed out.

What it means:

The system is temporarily down

Error: Request to MBIINquiry API failed previously with provided data

What it means: The system couldn’t locate a matching person, usually due to incorrect input.

Action:

Confirm spelling of first/last name.
Try with or without suffixes (e.g., “Jr” vs. “Jr.” or no suffix).
Use SSN
5-6% of the time, the beneficiary has a recently issued Medicare number or recently reissued (60-90 days). This means the beneficiary will not be pulled.

Error: “BEQ Lookup Failed”

What it means: Temporary processing issue.

Action: Wait a few minutes, retry the request.

404 – User Not Found

What it means: The system was unable to locate a matching user (info entered may be incorrect, mismatch of SSN, etc.).

Action: Double-check the beneficiary information you entered (name, SSN/MBI, date of birth, etc.). If the information is correct and you are still failing, work with your contact to verify that you have the accurate information.