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AP NewsBreak: Medicare card remake to protect seniors

This image provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows what the new Medicare cards will look like. The cards are getting a makeover to fight identity theft. No more Social Security numbers will be placed on the card. Next April, Medicare will begin mailing every beneficiary a new card with a unique new number to identify them. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services via AP)
This image provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows what the new Medicare cards will look like. The cards are getting a makeover to fight identity theft. No more Social Security numbers will be placed on the card. Next April, Medicare will begin mailing every beneficiary a new card with a unique new number to identify them. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services via AP)

By Associated Press 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Medicare cards are getting a makeover to fight identity theft.

No more Social Security numbers plastered on the card. Next April, Medicare will begin mailing every beneficiary a new card with a unique new number to identify them.

“Criminals are increasingly targeting people age 65 and older for medical identity theft,” Medicare chief Seema Verma told The Associated Press. “We are committed to preventing fraud.”

Medicare is revealing the cards’ new design on Thursday as the government gears up for a massive transition that will involve coordination with 58 million beneficiaries and their family members, plus hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, pharmacies and state governments.

While the first mailings of new cards begin next April, Congress has set an April 2019 deadline for all beneficiaries to have received one.