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New, more secure Medicare cards are on the way

Starting this year, Medicare will issue new cards, with a randomly-assigned "Medicare Beneficiary Identifier."

Posted Updated

By
Monica Laliberte
, WRAL consumer reporter

We all know we're not supposed to carry our Social Security numbers around with us, but people with Medicare cards don't have a choice.

Medicare cards have used the subscriber's Social Security number as their Medicare identification number, which can make it easy for someone to steal the subscriber's identity.

Starting this year, Medicare will issue new cards, with a randomly-assigned "Medicare Beneficiary Identifier."

The cards will be mailed in waves, to various parts of the country, from April 2018 until April 2019.

In North Carolina, Medicare recipients will start receiving new cards after June.

When your new care comes, be sure to shred the old one to protect your Social Security number.

There is no charges to get the new card, and Medicare will not call you to confirm. Both are examples of scams already circulating where people are trying to make a profit from the change.

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