What You Need to Know About the New Medicare Cards

The 2018 Medicare & You Handbook has announced that new Medicare cards are on their way.

For a long time, your social security number has been on display, and many of us found this to be troublesome. Carrying it with you in public is a threat to your personal identity, and when you use it often, the chances of identity theft become more of a concern.

Between April 2018 and April 2019, new Medicare cards will be mailed to everyone enrolled in Medicare. These cards have removed the SSN and have replaced it with a unique Medicare Number that looks like this:

More information will be available when the new Medicare card is mailed to you.

A few things to note:

• Make sure your mailing address on file is correct. If it isn’t, you can go online to ssa.gov/myaccount or you can call 1-800-772-1213.
• Be aware of potential scammers. The new card will be sent automatically, so anyone who calls or emails for personal information is not a reliable source.
• Have patience – the mailing period is a full year long. Your neighbor or friend might receive theirs before you do, but there's nothing to worry about.