New Medicare cards will be mailed out by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in April 2018. A unique Medicare number is included in the new Medicare cards instead of the Social Security number listed on cards that already exist. The change aims to prevent fraud and identity theft.
Here are 6 things you need to know about the new Medicare cards for retirees:
1. The cards arrival. By April 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are required by The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 to remove all Social Security numbers and all new Medicare cards must be mailed around April 2018 and April 2019. Seniors who will get cards first are the residents of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia and the exact timing of the mailing depends on every region. If you’re not a retiree from the states previously mentioned, you can expect your new card later in 2018 or in early 2019. Retirees who will be among the last to receive their new cards are those residents from Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and the Virgin Islands. An attorney of the Federal Trade Commission, Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, advised new card recipients that mailing them will take some time, probably at least a year, so your card might arrive a little late or earlier than your friends and neighbors.
2. The new card is free. The new Medicare Cards for retirees is free of charge and will automatically be sent in their mail. Schifferle cautions retirees to hang up the phone if someone calls asking you to pay for the new card. Do not respond to any calls claiming to be from Medicare asking you for your Social Security number or important bank information. Phone scams are very common related to Medicare asking for personal information, according to Sany Morales, a project manager for California Health Advocates. Medicare will not be contacting you about sending you your new card so never disclose personal information over the phone.
3. Review your address on file. Make sure your card will be mailed to your present address. Update your address with the Social Security Administration if you moved to a new place enrolling in Medicare. The address stated in your file will be used to mail the new card so make sure you confirm it at socialsecurity.gov/myaccount, 1-800-772-1213 or by calling your local Social Security office.
4. Use your new card. Once your new card arrives, bring it with you on your next medical appointment. You can continue to use your existing Medicare card or the new card within a 21-month transition period, that's from April 1, 2018, through December 31, 2019. It doesn’t matter what card you use during that period, your Medicare coverage and benefits will not change. Continue using the ID card if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan but also present your new Medicare card to medical appointments. Those who just got in Medicare starting April 2018 will be one of the recipients of the cards.
5. Discard the old card appropriately. Your old card must be disposed of properly in order to secure your Social Security number. A CMS official advised retirees that once they receive their new Medicare card, they should destroy the old one in a way that makes the old number unrecognizable. You may shred the card instead of putting it out in the trash or recycling. It has to be completely destroyed.
6. Your medicare must be well protected. A unique and randomly generated series of 11 numbers and uppercase letters will compose the new Medicare numbers. It also became senior-friendly because the letters S, L, O, I, B and Z will no longer be used to easily recognize and read the characters. As far as keeping your new Medicare number confidential, only your doctor, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers should know about your number since they need this information for Medicare transactions. Avoid carrying your Medicare card with you wherever you go according to Amy Nofziger, the regional director of the AARP Foundation. By the end of 2019, you will be using your new number and Healthcare providers are already expecting that.
