As Seniors are made aware of the redesigned Medicare cards, the
risk of them falling victim to this new scam increases. This transition already
has scammers looking for a new way to rip-off Medicare recipients.
COLUMBUS, OHIO (PRWEB) OCTOBER 25, 2017
On April 16th of 2015, the Medicare Access and CHIP
Reauthorization Act (MACRA) became public law. The new law requires all Social
Security numbers to be removed from Medicare cards by April of 2019. The Social
Security number will be replaced by a new number on all Medicare cards, called
the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
preventing identity theft for those with Medicare is the main priority of this
bill. The new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), is a randomly-assigned
number that will be used for most healthcare related transactions. The MBI will
be clearly different than your Social Security number according to CMS. The MBI
will be made up of 11 characters that will contain numbers and upper-case
letters; no other special characters will be used.
Health care providers will have a 21-month transition window
from April 1, 2018, through December 31, 2019. During this transition
Healthcare providers will be able to legally accept the Medicare Beneficiary
Identifier (MBI) or the Medicare beneficiary’s Social Security Number.
The Department of Justice has reported that seniors 65 and older are increasingly being targeted by identity thieves. They have reported that incidents of identity theft have increased from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014.
The Department of Justice has reported that seniors 65 and older are increasingly being targeted by identity thieves. They have reported that incidents of identity theft have increased from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014.
This transition already has scammers looking for a new way to
rip-off Medicare recipients. Reuters news service reports that Seniors are
being called and told that they must pay for their new Medicare card. According
to the report, the senior that filed the complaint, was asked for their
checking account information and Medicare card numbers
The Federal Trade Commission has verified this report and states
that “Is someone calling, claiming to be from Medicare, and asking for your
Social Security number or bank information? Hang up. That’s a scam.” According
to the FTC, the new Medicare cards will be mailed out automatically, starting
April of 2018, and are free to all 57 million Americans on Medicare.
Sources
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/New-Medicare-Card/index.html
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2/text
https://www.reuters.com/article/column-miller-medicare/column-new-medicare-cards-a-lone-bright-spot-in-identity-theft-battle-idUSL2N1L2176
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/05/new-medicare-cards-are-way
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/New-Medicare-Card/index.html
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2/text
https://www.reuters.com/article/column-miller-medicare/column-new-medicare-cards-a-lone-bright-spot-in-identity-theft-battle-idUSL2N1L2176
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/05/new-medicare-cards-are-way
About the Author
Suzanne McClain is a leading Medicare advisor in Columbus, Ohio. As director of Medicare Sales for National United Medicare Advisors, she has been awarded Front Runner Agent with Aetna for the years 2013 through 2017. United Healthcare has awarded her Agent level 2 at the Platinum Agent level. Helping hundreds of clients in the central Ohio area has earned Suzanne the President Club award for Medicare sales in 2015 and 2016.
Suzanne McClain is a leading Medicare advisor in Columbus, Ohio. As director of Medicare Sales for National United Medicare Advisors, she has been awarded Front Runner Agent with Aetna for the years 2013 through 2017. United Healthcare has awarded her Agent level 2 at the Platinum Agent level. Helping hundreds of clients in the central Ohio area has earned Suzanne the President Club award for Medicare sales in 2015 and 2016.
Suzanne can be reached on social media or through her website.
https://www.facebook.com/suzannekmcclain
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannemcclain/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgoKHQmTIgE
https://twitter.com/Suzannekmcclain
http://numedicareadvisors.com/medicare-qa/
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