Arrival of new Medicare cards also brings out the scammers
Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 in order to decrease Medicare beneficiaries’ vulnerability to identity theft by replacing Social Security numbers with new Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBI) on Medicare cards.
This law requires the removal of Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards by April 2019.
As this initiative gets under way, all Medicare beneficiaries will be assigned a new MBI and be sent a new card.
Because there are currently over 60 million Medicare beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will mail the cards out in phases over time, between April 2018 and April 2019.
Your card may arrive at a different time than your spouse, friend or neighbor, but don’t worry — you will receive your card by April 2019.
During the transition period, either the old Medicare card or the new Medicare card will work.
Per Medicare, the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will have the following characteristics:
• The MBI will be 11 characters in length.
• MBIs are numbers and upper-case letters. Medicare will use numbers 1-9 and all letters from A to Z, except for S, L,O,I,B and Z. This will help the characters be easier to read. • Each person with Medicare will get their own randomly generated MBI. It will be unique to each beneficiary (e.g., husband and wife will have their own MBIs).
• Each MBI is unique, randomly generated, and the characters are “nonintelligent,” which means they don’t have any hidden or special meaning. It will not contain inappropriate combinations of numbers or strings that may be offensive.
Starting now and throughout the entire transition period, it is important to be aware of possible fraud and scams relating to the new Medicare cards:
• Remember, CMS and Medicare will never contact you by phone or email to ask for personal information relating to the issuance of the new Medicare cards.
This is an automatic change, so you don’t have to do anything. CMS will send your new Medicare card IN THE U.S. POSTAL MAIL.
If someone calls you and needs to “confirm your identity or your Medicare number” to get your new card, THIS IS A SCAM! Call the Texas Senior Medicare immediately to report it (1-888341-6187).
• In a survey to Medicare beneficiaries, 60 percent believe they have to pay for the revamped Medicare cards. NO ONE has to pay for their Medicare cards.
Anyone asking for money or payment of any fee for the new card is a scammer. Be extra cautious of anyone asking for access to your checking account to pay a fee for the new card.
• Beneficiaries who are isolated, frail or have cognitive loss are the most vulnerable to this scam.
• Caregivers also should be aware and on the lookout for this potential scam.
One last thing to note during this transition period is that your Medicare coverage stays the same, and you can start using your new card as soon as you receive it.
Start using it immediately, but do not get rid of your old card; it will take doctors and hospitals some time to convert their systems to accept the new Medicare cards.
If you have not received your new card and you need to go to the doctor, you can use your old Medicare card until you get a new one.
If you have a separate Medicare Advantage card, keep that because you’ll still need it for treatment.
When will you receive your new Medicare card? You can now track the status of your new card by going to Medicare.gov/ NewCard.
If you have any questions or want to report a scam, doesn’t hesitate to call the Senior Medicare Patrol at 713-341-6184.
If you would like a presentation to your organization or community about the new Medicare Card and possible scams, contact the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol.
Remember, CMS and Medicare will never contact you by phone or email to ask for personal information relating to the issuance of the new Medicare cards. This is an automatic change: You don’t have to do anything. CMS will send your new Medicare card IN THE U.S. POSTAL MAIL.