Protection against Identity Theft and Fraud: NEW Medicare ID Card

Last April 2018 Medicare began sending new cards with new Medicare numbers to people with Medicare as part of Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA) of 2015. This is to protect you against identity theft and fraud. The new ID Cards will include a unique Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) which will replace the Social Security Numbers (SSNs)-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN). Your MBI will be the one you will use for Medicare transactions like billing, eligibility status, claim status and the like.

Your card is mailed at no cost to the address you have on file with Social Security. Visit my Social Security account if you need to update your official mailing address.

So what does the MBI look like? MBI has 11-characters in length and made up only of numbers and uppercase letters(no special characters) except for the letters S, L, O, I, B, and Z to avoid confusion. Your benefits will not change with the new MBI and it’s effective date is the same as when you became eligible for Medicare itself so you can use it right away.

Once you get your new Medicare card you must destroy your old card. If you have other cards like thr Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Advantage, and/or Medicare Supplement (Medigap) you should keep using them as your main identification along with your new Medicare Card.

A transition period is given from the time you receive your card until January 1, 2020. After that, only new cards will be accepted.

Be wary of people contacting you about your new Medicare card and asking you for your Medicare Number, personal information, or to pay a fee for your new card. Medicare already have your information on file and your new card is absolutely free of charge. Regard your new Medicare Number like how you do with your Social Security or credit card numbers, it is very important and unique only to you.

For more information please visit the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services website.