New Medicare cards on their way

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

In an effort to cut down on ID theft and fraud, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing new Medicare identification cards that don’t carry beneficiaries’ Social Security numbers on them.

The new cards will be sent to all newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries starting this month (April). The mailing to current beneficiaries has been delayed a bit—starting in May instead of April for residents of DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV, AK, CA, HI and OR. New cards for existing beneficiaries in all other states will be mailed after June.

If you would like a more precise ETA, you can sign up to receive an email notification once your card has been sent. Visit the Medicare sign-up page to register. 

In the meantime, be on the alert for crooks who see this as another opportunity to scam Medicare users. Callers have been contacting consumers by phone, saying they have to pay a fee (in other words, provide their bank account or credit card number) or verify their Social Security number to receive the new card. No way—hang up! Remember, Medicare will never call you unsolicited. If you are unsure if a call is legitimate, verify by contacting Medicare directly at 800-MEDICARE (633-4227).