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NC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES EIS MANUAL

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION SYSTEM EIS 4050

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MAILING ADDRESS APPENDIX

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MAILING ADDRESS APPENDIX

I. introduction

II. addressing software

iii. improving address quality

IV. 911 Addresses

V. Mailing Address for SSI Medicaid Recipients

VI. Resources

VII. COMMON ABBREVIATIONS

VIII. CITY ABBREVIATIONS

IX. STATE ABBREVIATIONS

EIS 4050 - MAILING ADDRESS APPENDIX

REVISED 7/1/03 - CHANGE NO. 1-04

I. introduction

The information in this section is provided to give counties the opportunity to improve mailing address quality in the Eligibility Information System (EIS). Good address quality improves the likelihood of timely delivery of notices and benefits and reduces the likelihood of mail being returned by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as undeliverable.

II. addressing software

The State uses addressing software when printing recipient notices, Medicaid cards, Work First and Special Assistance checks to modify addresses to USPS standards. The software only changes the address on the printed notice or benefit; not the address in EIS. When the mailing address fits USPS standards, the State bar-codes the piece of mail for automatic sorting and routing. Bar-coded mail delivery is much faster than manually sorted and routed mail delivery, resulting in fewer delayed benefits and emergency service needs.

A. EIS Address Matches USPS Address

If the EIS address is a perfect match to the USPS database, the software makes no change. The notice or benefit prints with the same address as in EIS.

B. EIS Address Closely Matches USPS Address

If the EIS address closely matches an address on the USPS database, the software changes the printed address to the address on the USPS database that is most similar to the EIS address, within certain tolerances. For instance, the EIS address is 123 W Jones St, and the USPS database has only Jones St. The software changes the printed address to 123 Jones St. The notice or benefit prints with 123 Jones St.

The software also fills in missing data for the address when the street address is too long to fit on one line in EIS. 1224 Van Landingham Dr is too long for one line in EIS, even with correct abbreviations for Drive. 1224 Van Landingha is the EIS address. The software recognizes the street name and prints 1224 Van Landingham Dr. The notice or benefit prints with a different, longer address than the EIS address.

C. EIS Address Does Not Match USPS Address

If there is no similar address in the USPS database, the notice or benefit prints with the address exactly as it is in EIS. The mail is not bar-coded. The notice or benefit is not sorted or handled automatically. It must be manually sorted and handled, which results in delays in delivery.

REVISED 7/1/03 - CHANGE NO. 1-04

iii. improving address quality

Use the following quidelines to ensure all mail is sorted, routed and delivered as quickly as possible.

A. Abbreviations

Use standard USPS abbreviations, even if there is space for the word to be spelled out.

Road, Street, Lane, and Drive all have standard USPS abbreviations which you should use. Church does not have a standard USPS abbreviation, but Grove can be abbreviated as GRV.

CORRECT	INCORRECT
355 FOREST LN SMITHFIELD NC 22222	355 FOREST LANE SMITHFIELD NC 22222

B. Punctuation

Do not use any punctuation within the address (#, **, - .).

CORRECT	INCORRECT
APT 2 123 JONES ST RALEIGH NC 22222	APT. 2 123 JONES ST. RALEIGH NC 22222

C. Apartment Designation

1. If the apartment designation is a letter, enter it right after the street address. Do not leave a space between the street address and the apartment number.

CORRECT	INCORRECT
124A JONES ST	124 A JONES ST 124 APT A JONES ST 124 JONES ST APT A

2. If the apartment designation is a number, enter the apartment number first and the street address following it.

CORRECT	INCORRECT
APT 2 124 JONES ST	124 JONES ST APT 2 # 2 124 JONES ST 124 JONES ST #2 1242 JONES ST 124 APT 2 JONES ST

REVISED 7/1/03 - CHANGE NO. 1-04

III. IMPROVING ADDRESS QUALITY (CONT’D)

D. Two-line Addresses

If an address requires two lines, enter apartment numbers, building numbers and lot numbers on the first line of the address. Enter the street address on the second line. The USPS automatic routing software reads addresses from the bottom up.

CORRECT	INCORRECT
TRLR 5 1034 CRISCO RD N CONCORD NC 22222	1034 CRISCO RD N TRLR 5 CONCORD NC 22222
APT A 2434 OLD FERRY RD CARY NC 22222	2434 OLD FERRY RD APT A CARY NC 22222
BLDG 2 2318 HONEYWELL LN BENSON NC 22222	2318 HONEYWELL LN BLDG 2 BENSON NC 22222

E. Special Addresses

1. Facility Addresses

Enter the facility name on Address Line 1.

Enter the street address on Address Line 2.

CORRECT	INCORRECT
SMITH FAMILY CARE 824 BRIGHTON RD RALEIGH NC 22222	824 BRIGHTON RD SMITH FAMILY CARE RALEIGH NC 22222

2. Post Office Box Addresses

Enter PO BOX 12345. (No space between P and O.)

3. In Care Of

Enter C/O on Address Line 1.

Enter the street address on Address Line 2.

CORRECT	INCORRECT
C/O FRANCES GREEN 125 MASON AVE STAR NC 22222	125 MASON AVE C/O FRANCES GREEN STAR NC 22222

REVISED 7/1/03 - CHANGE NO. 1-04

IV. 911 Addresses

When county addresses change from rural routes to ‘911 addresses’, the USPS continues to deliver mail to the rural route addresses for one year, then begins returning mail to the sender. Mail customers must file a change of address with the USPS to advise of the change from the rural route address to the street address.

A. Ensure the new street address is in EIS.

B Ensure your local Social Security Office is aware of the change and the importance of entering the new street address in the SSI record.

C. As you approach the end of the 12-month transition period for 911 addresses, you may want to perform a DHHS Data Warehouse query to identify cases with rural route addresses for special attention.

V. Mailing Address for SSI Medicaid Recipients

If you find an SSI Medicaid recipient has mailing address issues affecting receipt of notices and/or benefits, work with your local Social Security(SSA) Office to resolve the issues.

A. Send a DMA-5049 to the local SSA Office. Ask SSA to change the format of the address. Make it clear you are not reporting a new address, but asking for a change in the format of the current address.

B. Give specific instructions, such as “Please put APT 2 on line one and the street address on line two.”

C. Contact EIS at the Division of Medical Assistance if you are unable to resolve the issue.

VI. Resources

You may wish to use the following resources for information to improve mailing address quality.

United States Postal Service

http://www.usps.com/

ZIP Codes

http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/lookup_zip+4.html

Use this USPS website to ensure a mailing address is valid and to find zip codes.

Abbreviations http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps abbreviations.htm

Use this USPS website to find standard abbreviations.

REVISED 7/1/03 - CHANGE NO. 1-04

VII. COMMON ABBREVIATIONS

Alley	ALY	Grove	GRV
Apartment	APT	Heights	HTS
Avenue	AVE	Highway	HWY
Beach	BCH	In care of	C/O
Block	BLK	Lane	LN
Boulevard	BLV	Lot	LT
Box	BOX	Mobile home park	MHP
Brook	BRK	Mobile home village	MHV
Building	BLDG	North	N
Cape	CPE	Northwest, etc	NW, etc.
Center	CTR	Parkway	PKY
Circle	CIR	Place	PL
City	CT	Point	PT
Corner(s)	COR(s)	Post Office	PO
Court	CT	Road	RD
Creek	CRK	Route	RT
Drive	DR	South	S
East	E	Terrace	TER
Extension	EXT	Trailer Park	TRLR PK
General Delivery	GEN DEL	West	W

NOTE: ENTER NUMERIC STREET NAMES WITH A NUMBER AND THE TWO LETTER ENDING. FOR EXAMPLE, 2ND, 3RD, 4TH, ETC.

VIII. CITY ABBREVIATIONS

Beach	(as in Carolina Beach)	CAROLINA BCH
Ferry	(as in Sneads Ferry)	SNEADS FRY
Mount	(as in Rocky Mount)	ROCKY MT
Mountain	(as in Kings Mountain)	KINGS MTN
Neck	(as in Scotland Neck)	SCOTLAND NCK
Rapids	(as in Roanoke Rapids)	ROANOKE RPDS
ville	(as in Wrightsville)	WRIGHTSVL

NOTE: DO NOT PUNCTUATE CITY NAMES, INCLUDING HYPENS, AND DO NOT EXCEED 12 SPACES. FOR EXAMPLE, WINSTON-SALEM IS WINSTON SALE.

IX. STATE ABBREVIATIONS

AL	Alabama	KY	Kentucky	OH	Ohio
AK	Alaska	LA	Louisiana	OK	Oklahoma
AZ	Arizona	ME	Maine	OR	Oregon
AR	Arkansas	MD	Maryland	PA	Pennsylvania
CA	California	MA	Massachusetts	PR	Puerto Rico
CO	Colorado	MI	Michigan	RI	Rhode Island
CT	Connecticut	MN	Minnesota	SC	South Carolina
DE	Delaware	MS	Mississippi	SD	South Dakota
DC	District of Columbia	MO	Missouri	TN	Tennessee
FL	Florida	MT	Montana	TX	Texas
GA	Georgia	NE	Nebraska	UT	Utah
GU	Guam	NV	Nevada	VT	Vermont
HI	Hawaii	NH	New Hampshire	VA	Virginia
ID	Idaho	NJ	New Jersey	VI	Virgin Islands
IL	Illinois	NM	New Mexico	WA	Washington
IN	Indiana	NY	New York	WV	West Virginia
IA	Iowa	NC	North Carolina	WI	Wisconsin
KS	Kansas	ND	North Dakota	WY	Wyoming