New U.S. Medicare Cards Prompt Warnings About Phone Scams

Concerns about identity theft are being prompted by Medicare issuing new identification cards to 59 million Americans this year and early next year, reports Reuters . The old cards use Social Security numbers as identifiers, while the new cards use a unique, randomly assigned number. Phone scammers are exploiting the replacement program to go after seniors, most often by calling enrollees and telling them they must pay for their new cards, then asking for their bank account information or Social Security numbers. The new card is free, and it does not change coverage in any way. In addition, seniors should know Medicare will never call beneficiaries about this. However, a March AARP poll determined 76 percent of men and women 65 and older had not seen, read, or heard "much of anything at all" about the new cards, or were unsure if they had. Furthermore, 75 percent could not correctly identify the key change coming with the new numbers. Almost 66 percent of respondents were unsure or incorrect in thinking that Medicare would charge a $25 processing fee for the new cards, while 56 percent were unsure or incorrect in assuming that Medicare would call to confirm their Social Security number before they could receive the cards.