New member identification prefixes coming in 2018

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) assigns member ID prefixes for all Blue Cross and Blue Shield-branded Plans — BCBSGA Plans as well as non-BCBSGA Plans. There are a limited number of unused three-character, alpha-only prefixes remaining, and they are expected to be exhausted in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2018. When that happens, the BCBSA will begin assigning prefixes that contain a combination of letters and numbers, or alpha-numeric prefixes.

Current three-character, alpha-only prefixes will not be affected by this change. Current prefixes will still be valid once the new alpha-numeric prefixes are issued, unless there is another need to change or remove a prefix currently in use.

Source: https://www11.bcbsga.com/networkupdate/articles/jun2017_prefixes.html