The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made changes to the Medicare card and it’s on its way. CMS will be phasing in the new cards gradually and on a state by state basis. Maryland is one of the first states slated for the new cards and beneficiaries should be receiving theirs in the mail from April. The plan is to make sure that every Medicare beneficiary in the country will have the new card by April 2019.
The whole reason for the change is to make sure that everyone is better protected from identity theft as the current Medicare IDs are based on Social Security numbers. The new cards will have a unique ‘Medicare Beneficiary Identifier’ (MBI) number that’s got nothing to do with any other ID a person might have.
Until you get the new card you’ll be able to use your current one so there’s no need to worry if don’t receive it immediately. Once you receive the new card you can start using it right away and you should make sure that you destroy the old one so nobody can get hold of that one.
For beneficiaries who might want some more information you can go to: https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/12018-10-Things-To-Know-About-New-Medicare-Card.pdf
For benefits counselors and providers you can get some general information at: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/new-medicare-card/nmc-home.html
You can also attend a webinar CMS will be hosting on March 8. You can register here: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1183878&tp_key=6bd8b7b2ef