Beneficiaries Need to be Aware that this is Not a Scam
New Medicare Cards/ CC Clay County Hospital
FLORA, IL -(Effingham Radio)- Beginning in April 2018, the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS) will start mailing new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare.
A new alpha-numeric identifier will replace the current Social Security Number-based identifier. This roll-out will occur over a several month period, based upon the geographic location of the Medicare beneficiary.
There are concerns that people might believe that this is a“SCAM” and therefore, will
ignore notifications or throw new identification cards away.
If you are a Medicare beneficiary, please watch your mail closely over the next few months for
notifications from Medicare relating to this change.
Medicare beneficiaries should begin bringing their new card with them to healthcare visits as soon as they receive it.
Here is the way this will work:
- *NEWLY ELIGIBLE Medicare beneficiaries will get a card with a unique number, regardless of
their geographic location. - *Starting in APRIL, people with Medicare will be able to go to Medicare.gov/newcard to sign up
for emails about the card mailing, and to check the card mailing status in their state. - *People with Medicare should use the new card once they receive it, but either the Social
Security Number-based (old) card or the new random alphanumeric-based numbers can be used
through December 2019. - *Beginning January 1 2020, only the new card will be usable.
