What You Should Know About the New Medicare Card

This card comes with a randomly assigned Medicare Beneficiary Identifier [MBI] consisting of 11 letters and numbers. There is no social security number as on the current card.

Some differences between the new cards are:

• Uppercase letters and numbers
• The letters B, I, L, O, S, and Z are not used to avoid confusion between letters and numbers.
• Positions 2, 5, 8, and 9 are always characters
• No embedded logic
• Each beneficiary is assigned a unique identifier

About 60 million Medicare recipients will eventually receive a card by mail. Email transmission started in April 2018 and lasts for one year.

What do you or Medicare recipients need to know?

• You don't have to do anything to get a card. It is automatically sent by email.
• Make sure that Medicare has a current address so that the cards can be delivered on time.
• The card may be in an envelope similar to junk mail.
• When you receive the card, discard the old card and start using the new card immediately.
• Don't worry if your friend has a new card. Mailing all cards takes time.
• The new card is paper. You may want to laminate it.
• Bring your new card to your next medical visit.
• If you forget your new card, your healthcare provider must be able to find your Medicare ID online.

If you have a Medicare Advantage policy, you must keep and use this plan card. However, please have both cards available when you see a doctor.

Beware of fraud [recommended by the American Retirement Association]

• Scams related to new cards are already emerging. Some Medicare beneficiaries call a fraudster to tell you that they must pay for a new card and ask for their checking account and Medicare card number. Do not pass either number !!

“Anyone who charges the card is a scammer,” says Paul Stevens, San Diego ’s Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Policy and Advocacy Director. “In the case of CMS, they already know what the Medicare card number is, so they don't have to tell you that.”

Identity theft is increasing among people over the age of 65. The Ministry of Justice quotes over 2.6 million numbers of recent senior identity thefts.

Always proceed with great care before publishing personally identifiable information!