Finally enacted: New Medicare Cards Will Not Display Social Security Numbers

New Medicare Cards Will Not Display Social Security Numbers

Excerpt:

A new Medicare card is coming, one that will no longer display a cardholder’s Social Security number, or SSN. To protect seniors from identity theft, President Obama recently signed a bill that requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue new Medicare cards that don’t display, code, or embed SSNs. Medicare advises senior citizens to carry their cards at all times, but doing so makes them more vulnerable to identity theft. If a wallet or purse is lost or stolen, identity thieves have access to an SSN. For more than a decade, we and other Federal agencies have recommended taking SSNs off of Medicare cards. However, the amount of money and effort this would take has prevented it—so the new law includes funding and instructions for HHS to consult with the Social Security Administration to "establish cost‑effective procedures” to modernize Medicare cards. The bill gives HHS four years to issue modernized cards to new beneficiaries, and four more years to issue the new cards to existing beneficiaries.

Comment: But up to 8 years to implement! The bill ... see section 501