To help prevent identity theft, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are replacing all Medicare cards. CMS will be replacing the social security numbers that are listed on the cards with a new alpha-numeric number that is unique to the Medicare recipient called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).
The new cards will come to all current Medicare recipients who include people over 65, certain younger people with disabilities and citizens with renal disease.
Those new card will be sent out to people automatically. Anyone needing to update their address can do this at any Social Security Office.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Health Policy Analyst LCDR Amy Eden said the new Medicare cards will be mailed out starting April 1, 2018 but Oklahoma residents are scheduled to receive their card between June 2018 and April 2019.
“Once you get your new Medicare card, destroy your old one and start using your new card right away,” Eden said. “It is very important that all Medicare patients submit the new card to the Patient Registration staff at any of the MCN Health facilities so that the electronic health record can be updated.”
Anyone with questions about the new Medicare card, should contact their health provider, the MCN Department of Health Administration office at 918-756-0310 or see more information about the new Medicare card at www.cms.gov.