New Medicare Cards Coming Soon
To prevent fraud and identity theft, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) was passed on April 16, 2015 requiring the removal of the Social Security Number from the Medicare card. Beginning next year, Medicare beneficiaries will be mailed a new card with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) from April 1, 2018 – April 1, 2019. To confirm that your mailing address is up-to-date, go to mysocialsecurity.com, call 1-800-772-1213, or go to your local Social Security office. The Social Security Number (SSN) will be replaced with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) of 11 letters and numbers.
Con artists are opportunists and target seniors, especially in times of transition or change. Senior Medicare Patrols (SMPs) nation-wide are already receiving reports of scammers calling beneficiaries posing as government officials from Medicare, Social Security Administration, IRS, etc. They claim they need to confirm your SSN and charge a fee for the new cards to expedite the service, for example. Medicare will NOT charge you for the new card, nor will they call to confirm your SSN! Don’t fall victim, if you receive a call like this, hang up and report it to Indiana SMP!
The only change to your Medicare program is the mailing of a new card beginning April 2018. The roll out of the new cards continues until April 2019. Your benefits are not affected. Medicare recommends that you shred your old card once you receive the new card. Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers should continue to protect the new Medicare card information and not give out ANY personal information to strangers or unsolicited medical providers. Guard your card!
If you have a group that would benefit from a presentation about this and other ways to protect yourself from Medicare fraud, please contact Brenda Thompson at Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens at 276-964-4915 or email [email protected].
Remember:
New cards. Same Medicare.
No cost to you.
No changes to benefits.
New cards mailed beginning April 2018.