04/07/2018
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is mailing new Medicare cards to all 57.7 million Medicare beneficiaries starting April 2018 and continuing through April 2019.
The new Medicare cards will use a unique, randomly-assigned 11-[character] 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 also noted that the new Medicare card initiative "will prevent fraud, fight identity theft and protect essential program funding and the private healthcare and financial information of our Medicare beneficiaries."
Here are a few key points about your new Medicare card from CMS:
New Medicare Card, Same Medicare Benefits. Your new Medicare card will not affect or change your Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B benefits. Your Medicare Part A and Part B effective dates printed on the new Medicare card ("Coverage Starts") will not change.
The 11-charecter Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). Your new Medicare card is printed on paper, the size of a credit card, and will have a new 11-character Medicare "Number" or Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). You will notice that your new MBI "number" is actually alphanumeric or having both upper-case letters and numbers (from the sample graphic above you can see "1EG4-TE5-MK72") - to avoid confusion, the MBI will exclude the letters:"S, L, O, I, B, Z" (since these letters are easily mistaken for numbers).
Your Unique and Random Number. Your new Medicare card will have a number that is unique to you - but, there is no meaning to the number. Remember, you will have a different number than your spouse.
No more Social Security numbers. Medicare is removing the 9-digit Social Security Number from these new Medicare cards (from the sample original Medicare card graphic above we had the Social Security Number "000-00-0000").
No more gender, no more signature. The new Medicare cards will no longer include your gender and your new Medicare cards will not have a signature line.
Helping you to fight against identity theft and more. The new Medicare card will help protect your identity (prevent identity theft) and, as noted above, fights fraud, protects "essential program funding and the private healthcare and financial information of our Medicare beneficiaries".
Important: Confirm your mailing address. Please make sure that your mailing address is up-to-date by calling the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY users 1-800-325-0778) (Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) or visit https://ssa.gov/myaccount.
Look for your new Medicare card in the mail. CMS will automatically mail you a new Medicare card - you do not need to take any action. Below is the CMS Medicare card mailing schedule and, as you can imagine, mailing new Medicare cards to 57.7 million people will take some time, so be sure to have some patience. CMS will begin mailing new Medicare cards April 2018 and continue through April 2019.
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 - instead of April 2018.)
Group
States included in the card mailing
Date of card mailing
Newly eligible Medicare Beneficiaries
All - Nationwide
April 2018 - ongoing
1
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Beginning May 2018
2
Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam,
Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon
Beginning May 2018
3
Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin
After June 2018
4
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
After June 2018
5
Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
North Carolina, South Carolina
After June 2018
6
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
After June 2018
7
Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virgin Islands
After June 2018
Begin using your new Medicare card at once. Once you receive your new Medicare card, CMS recommends that you destroy your old Medicare card, and immediately begin using your new Medicare card.
Important: Keep your personal information secure. Again, be sure to protect yourself by destroying your old Medicare card in a way that no one can get your personal information.
Medicare Advantage plan Members. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan (MA or MAPD) like an HMO or PPO, you will continue using your Medicare plan's Member ID card just as you do now. Keep your new Medicare card safe, but carry the new Medicare card with you in case a healthcare provider asks to see it.
Members of stand-alone Medicare Part D plans. If you are enrolled in a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP), you will continue using your Medicare Part D plan's Member ID card for your prescription drug coverage. Please also carry your new Medicare card with you for evidence of your Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B coverage.
CMS Cautions and Fraud Alerts:
-- As emphasized by CMS: "Guard your Card". Protect your new Medicare card the same way you protect a credit card.
-- "Beware of anyone who contacts you about your new Medicare card. [CMS] will never ask you to give us personal or private information to get your new Medicare number and card." (emphasis added)
-- "Only give your new Medicare Number [MBI] to doctors, pharmacists, other health care providers, your insurers, or people you trust to work with Medicare on your behalf."
-- "If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call [a Medicare representative] at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)." (emphasis added)
-- "If someone calls you unexpectedly saying they “work with” or represent Medicare and need your card Number or other personal information, hang up! Medicare will only call you if you’ve called and left a message or if a representative said that someone will call you back." (emphasis added)
-- Important: Remember, your Medicare card will be sent to you automatically and you do not need to pay for your new Medicare card.
my Social Security | Open a my Social Security account today and rest easy knowing that you're in control of your future.
