Coming Soon: New Medicare ID Cards
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are removing the Social Security Number (SSN)-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) from Medicare ID cards to help prevent fraud and fight identity theft. Instead of being based on a beneficiary's Social Security number, each Medicare number will be an individually generated combination of letters and numbers. As a result, every existing Medicare beneficiary will get an updated Medicare Card that lists their new Medicare number.
What you need to know
- Between April 2018 and April 2019, CMS will mail each beneficiary a new Medicare ID card with a unique new Medicare number.
- It will take some time for CMS to mail everyone a new card. A member's card might arrive at a different time than their friend's or neighbor's card.
- Existing policyholders do not need to notify their current insurer of their new Medicare number.
Make sure your mailing address is up to date. If your address needs to be corrected, contact Social Security at:
ssa.gov/myaccount or call 1-800-772-1213.
TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778
Resources
10 Things to Know About Your New Medicare Card
