NEWS AND EVENTS

Attention Medicare beneficiaries: A new Medicare card is coming your way; watch out for potential scams. In an effort to help protect beneficiaries from identity theft, the federal government has started mailing new cards that come with a new 11-digit identification number instead of your Social Security number. The cards will be sent automatically to all Medicare beneficiaries over the next year. Be sure your address is up to date with the Social Security Administration.

Congress required the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards by April 2019. The new identifier is a mix of numbers and letters. Once you receive your new paper card, you should destroy the old one. Be sure all of your health care providers have your new Medicare number. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you should continue using the card provided by your insurance carrier.

The effort is designed to help minimize fraud, however, it has created a series of scams. Please note you do not have to do anything to receive your cards (except make sure your address is correct). There is no activation process or fee for your new card and Medicare will never initiate calls and ask to verify information over the phone. Do not speak to anyone who is calling you for personal or financial information, or if you are told there is a refund on your old Medicare card; hang up the phone and report the scam to the federal government at 1-800-MEDICARE.