New Medicare ID Cards Coming Soon
If you’re on Medicare, your social security number is about to be a bit safer.
Beginning in April 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will start mailing out new Medicare ID cards. CMS is removing social security numbers (SSNs) in order to prevent identity theft and fraud.
Instead of SSNs, the new cards will include a unique Medicare Beneficiary Identifier, or MBI.
CMS will phase in the mailings over the next year by geographic region. Residents of Delaware, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia will be the first to receive the new ID card.
This is welcome news for those worried about identity theft.
For more information, including a detailed timeline for rollout of the new cards, visit the CMS website: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/new-medicare-card/nmc-home.html