TurboTax refuses to accept the Payer's TIN from 1099-misc. Payer uses X's to hide the first five digits. How do I get TurboTax to report this income?

Enter the income as other income so that it can be reported properly.  If you are filing a Schedule C, then add it as income for the business.

Does the IRS need to identify the income to the 1099?

The IRS will check your return against the income on the 1099 reported on your social security number.  If you have a matching amount reported then they will accept this method of reporting the income even if you do not have a TIN/EIN associated with the income.  You will still be paying the tax appropriately.

Ok.  I can do that.
But if the IRS allows the "XX-XXX" format, please correct TurboTax to recognize it as well for future users.  I've spent a great deal of time trying to get the number from Humana, with no success.