If you haven’t already heard, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid will begin sending new Medicare cards at no cost to all Medicare beneficiaries this month. For this area of the country, Medicare will start sending out new cards after June.
The new cards will be using randomly picked 11 character numbers called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). These numbers will replace the Medicare cards you currently have that share your social security number.
This is being done to prevent fraud, fight identity theft, and prevent illegal use of Medicare benefits.
If you have had a change of address, it is important to call your local Social Security office to make sure they have your current mailing address. Once you receive your new card, you can simply shred your old one.
You also do not have to reach out to your Medicare Supplemental Plan, your Medicare Advantage Plan, or your Prescription Drug Plan. Medicare will send your new number to all of your insurance carriers.
If you are newly eligible for Medicare, it will be important to make sure you are a little early in enrolling in Medicare as well as any other Medicare plans to avoid delays. The normal time to enroll into Medicare Parts A and B normally take about ten business days. With the new card implementation, I suspect that will be a little longer.
As with any changes, questions will come up. We hope that you know you can count on us at Balanced Care to help you through any change that comes your way.
Terri Trepanier is the owner of Balanced Care Health and Supplemental Insurance and a licensed insurance consultant and broker with Associated Brokers. Licensed in both Maine and NH, her specialty is working with small businesses, individuals, and families with their health and life insurance needs. She is certified to offer health plans both on and off the exchange and is contracted with every health insurance company that offers plans in both New Hampshire and Maine. Her other passion is assisting Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Supplemental, Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, and Medicare Advantage plans. Terri has seen firsthand the importance of insurance products and how they help families. Her goal with Balanced Care is to “Insure Security and Peace of Mind One Family at a Time”.