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For UT SELECT Members in Medicare: New Medicare ID Numbers Coming Soon.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is going to replace Social Security numbers currently being used on Medicare ID cards with a randomly assigned Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or MBI. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 (known before as the Social Security Number Removal Initiative (SSNRI) included this requirement to remove Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019.
CMS explained this as a “fraud prevention initiative that removes Social Security numbers from Medicare cards to help combat identity theft, and safeguard taxpayer dollars.” New cards will begin being issued and mailed as early as April 2018 as part of a 21 month transition period where providers will be able to use either the MBI or the current HICN.
What To Expect
Read 10 Things To Know About Your New Medicare Card on the Medicare.gov website. This will include what to do at your next doctor visit, what the new ID card will look like and what to do with your old Medicare ID cards.
Watch out for scams
Medicare will never call you uninvited and ask you to give us personal or private information to get your new Medicare Number and card. Scam artists may try to get personal information (like your current Medicare Number) by contacting you about your new card. 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 Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Learn more about the limited situations in which Medicare may call you.
