New Medicare cards arriving April 2018.
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently preparing new Medicare cards for the 57.7 million Medicare
beneficiaries. "The new cards will use a unique, randomly-assigned number called
a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), to replace the Social Security-based Health
Insurance Claim Number (HICN) currently used on the Medicare card. CMS will begin
mailing new cards in April 2018."
(Update 07/15/2018 - If
you live in Delaware, District Of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or
West Virginia, you should have received your new Medicare card. If you did not receive your new card, please
call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227.)
(Update 04/05/2018 - New Medicare cards will be sent to people who are newly eligible for Medicare starting April 2018. New Medicare cards will be sent to existing Medicare beneficiaries starting May 2018.)
See a few key points about your new Medicare card in our article:
Your New Medicare Card: What you need to know! (Q1News.com/675)
The following is the full text of the CMS Press Release.
New Medicare cards offer greater protection to more than 57.7 million Americans
New cards will no longer contain Social Security numbers, to combat fraud and illegal use
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is readying a
fraud prevention initiative that removes Social Security numbers from
Medicare cards to help combat identity theft, and safeguard taxpayer
dollars. The new cards will use a unique, randomly-assigned number
called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), to replace the Social
Security-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) currently used on
the Medicare card. CMS will begin mailing new cards in April 2018 and
will meet the congressional deadline for replacing all Medicare cards by
April 2019. Today, CMS kicks-off a multi-faceted outreach campaign to
help providers get ready for the new MBI.
“We’re taking this step to protect our seniors from fraudulent use of
Social Security numbers which can lead to identity theft and illegal use
of Medicare benefits,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “We want to
be sure that Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare providers know about
these changes well in advance and have the information they need to make
a seamless transition.”
Providers and beneficiaries will both be able to use secure look up
tools that will support quick access to MBIs when they need them. There
will also be a 21-month transition period where providers will be able
to use either the MBI or the HICN further easing the transition
CMS testified on Tuesday, May 23rd before the U.S. House Committee on
Ways & Means Subcommittee on Social Security and U.S. House
Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Subcommittee on
Information Technology, addressing CMS’s comprehensive plan for the
removal of Social Security numbers and transition to MBIs.
Personal identity theft affects a large and growing number of seniors.
People age 65 or older are increasingly the victims of this type of
crime. Incidents among seniors increased to 2.6 million from 2.1 million
between 2012 and 2014, according to the most current statistics from
the Department of Justice. Identity theft can take not only an emotional
toll on those who experience it, but also a financial one: two-thirds
of all identity theft victims reported a direct financial loss. It can
also disrupt lives, damage credit ratings and result in inaccuracies in
medical records and costly false claims.
Work on this important initiative began many years ago, and was
accelerated following passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP
Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). CMS will assign all Medicare
beneficiaries a new, unique MBI number which will contain a combination
of numbers and uppercase letters. Beneficiaries will be instructed to
safely and securely destroy their current Medicare cards and keep the
new MBI confidential. Issuance of the new MBI will not change the
benefits a Medicare beneficiary receives.
CMS is committed to a successful transition to the MBI for people with
Medicare and for the health care provider community. CMS has a
website
dedicated to the Social Security Removal Initiative (SSNRI) where
providers can find the latest information and sign-up for newsletters.
CMS is also planning regular calls as a way to share updates and answer
provider questions before and after new cards are mailed beginning in
April 2018.
For more information, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/ medicare/ssnri/ index.html
###
Date: 2017-05-30
Title: New Medicare cards offer greater protection to more than 57.7 million Americans
Contact: press@cms.hhs.gov
source: https://www.cms.gov/ Newsroom/ MediaReleaseDatabase/
Press-releases/ 2017-Press-releases-items/ 2017-05-30.html [emphasis
added]