Medicare and Your Privacy.
For years, folks have complained that their Social Security number is also their Medicare identification number followed by a letter of the alphabet. With all the identity theft going on in this modern age, you’d think Medicare would do its part to help protect your Social Security number. But there it is…right on your red, white, and blue Medicare Card for everyone and anyone to see, copy, and retain, right along with your first, middle initial, and the last name spelled correctly. How convenient for an ID thief!
But Wait!! “The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services” (CMS) had heard the hue and cry of the the American public and guess what? New ID numbers and Medicare cards will be arriving soon! Yea!!!
Starting in April 2018 and projected to be completed by April 2019, anyone with a Medicare Card will receive a new card with a random ID number as your new ID number. No more Social Security numbers will be used as ID numbers for Medicare.
Good news is that it will make it that much harder for identity thieves, bad news is that some 52
million Medicare members will have new numbers to memorize.
So starting in April 2018, begin looking in your mail box for that new Medicare card!
