The new Medicare cards are coming; the new Medicare cards are coming!
OK, I know it is not as exciting as the story of Paul Revere but I have to work with what I’ve got.
The primary reason for the change was to move away from using your Social Security number as the basis for the number shown on you Medicare card. With the huge increase in identity theft, this is a prudent move.
The new cards will begin arriving in the mail around April 1, 2018. Here are a few things that Medicare is telling us about the new cards:
- Your Medicare coverage and benefits will remain the same.
- Your card will automatically come to you. You don’t need to do anything.
- The reprinting and mailing of millions of new cards will take time. Most of VibrantUSA’s clients live in either Texas or Washington and both are well down the mailing list so I would not look for your card before July, 2018.
- If you are on a Medicare Advantage Plan, that card will remain your primary card but you should carry your Medicare Card with you as well.
Perhaps the most important point is that Medicare will never call you uninvited and ask you to give personal or private information to get your new Medicare Number and card. Scam artists are everywhere and you should be very careful about giving out this type of information even if they identify themselves as working with Medicare.
For more information, please refer to the link below or, as always, call your trusted VibrantUSA agent for help.
https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-and-resources/your-medicare-card.html
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