New Medicare Cards in 2018
Excerpt from 2018 Health Care Choices for Minnesotans on Medicare
Medicare will be issuing new Medicare cards next year. The new cards will have a new Medicare number that is unique to you, instead of using your Social Security number. This change will help to prevent fraud, fight identity theft and protect private information.
- Those on Medicare will automatically receive a new card mailed to the address that Social Security has on file. Contact Social Security if you need to verify your address.
- People will start receiving new Medicare cards in April 2018.
- All Medicare cards will be replaced by April 2019.
- New Medicare cards will be issued with a new unique, randomly-assigned number called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).
- The MBI will replace the existing Social Security-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) both on the cards and in various government and health care systems.
- Railroad Retirement Board retirees will also receive new cards.
- Healthcare providers will be able to look up the new MBI through a secure tool at the point of service.
- There will be a 21-month transition period where all healthcare providers will be able to use either number for billing purposes.
Call the Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433 if you have questions about the new Medicare cards or for free help with other Medicare-related issues.
The Senior LinkAge Line is a free statewide service of the Minnesota Board on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging. The Senior LinkAge Line is the federally-designated State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for Minnesota and is the place to call for Medicare and health insurance issues. Call 1-800-333-2433 for assistance or go to www.MinnesotaHelp.info® to chat live with a Senior LinkAge Line specialist.
