Sunday, September 24, 2017

The Newly Redesigned Medicare Card

Some time back we told you that the Medicare card would be redone so beneficiaries' Social Security numbers no longer appeared on the cards. CMS has released the design for the new Medicare cards.  Still sporting the red, white and blue design, you will see that the Medicare number is different now-no more Social Security number!!! New Medicare Card Banner Image

Issuing new cards may sound like a simple thing, but it really is a big deal, when you stop and think about it, especially given the number of folks on Medicare.

Here is an excerpt from CMS to health care providers: 

Medicare is taking steps to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards. Through this initiative the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will prevent fraud, fight identity theft and protect essential program funding and the private healthcare and financial information of our Medicare beneficiaries.

CMS will issue new Medicare cards with a new unique, randomly-assigned number called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) to replace the existing Social Security-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) both on the cards and in various CMS systems we use now. We’ll start mailing new cards to people with Medicare benefits in April 2018. All Medicare cards will be replaced by April 2019.

You may even notice a commercial or two about the change. For more information about the changes, click here

 

 

 

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/elder_law/2017/09/the-newly-redesigned-medicare-card.html

Consumer Information, Current Affairs, Federal Statutes/Regulations, Health Care/Long Term Care, Medicare | Permalink

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