Fight Fraud: Guard Your Medicare Card If you have Medicare, you can protect your identity and help prevent health care fraud by guarding your Medicare card like you would a credit card. Identity theft from stolen Medicare Numbers is becoming more common.
How do you report a stolen Medicare card?
- Medicare Call Center at (800) 633-4227 (TTY: 877-486-20148)
- OIG Hotline at (800) 447-8477 (TTY: 800-377-4950) or via email at HHSTips@oig.hhs.gov
- Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Hotline at (877) 438-4338 (TTY: 866-653-4261)
How do I replace a lost or missing Medicare card?
- Get Your Medicare Card by Mail. Is it in the mail? ...
- Visit Your Local Social Security Office. Do I need to visit my Local Social Security Office? ...
- Gather Your Credentials. How else can I get proof that I’m covered by Medicare? ...
- Ordering Your Replacement Medicare Card Online. ...
How do I report a lost Medicare card?
visiting a Medicare Service Centre with your proof of identity. You'll be taken to another website.
How to replace a lost or stolen Medicaid card?
- Part D prescription drug coverage
- Medigap (Medicare Supplement)
- Medicare Advantage (Part C)
Can someone steal my Medicare card?
Call 1-800-MEDICARE if your Medicare card is lost, or you believe someone else is using your Medicare Number. If it's your Social Security card, visit socialsecurity.gov, or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778.
How do I protect my Medicare card?
You can buy a plastic ID card holder at a stationery store to protect your card. If your Medicare card gets lost or damaged, you can contact the Social Security Administration to replace it by going to the agency's website.
What can someone do with a stolen Medicare number?
One common kind of healthcare-related fraud is medical identity theft, which happens when a thief uses personal information — including your Medicare number — to access your healthcare benefits. This could include: Filling prescriptions. Purchasing medical equipment.
Should a person carry their Medicare card with them?
Keep your Medicare Advantage Card: If you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO), your Medicare Advantage Plan ID card is your main card for Medicare – you should still keep and use it whenever you need care. However, you also may be asked to show your new Medicare card, so you should carry this card too.
Can someone steal my identity with my Medicare number?
Don't share your Medicare or Social Security number (or other personal information) with anyone who contacts you out of the blue by phone, text or email or shows up unannounced at your door. Don't send or give your old Medicare card to anyone. Impostors may claim you need to return it.
Can someone else use your Medicare?
'Presently, there is nothing to stop someone from sharing their Medicare card with anyone who hasn't been issued with one, or is not eligible for a card, in order to source medical services at cost to the Government.
Where should I keep my Medicare card?
If you don't want to carry the card with you when you're not going to the doctor, you should keep it in a safe place at home, such as a locked desk drawer or a fireproof safe. Be sure to put it back in the same place every time once you're done using it.
How do I check to see if someone is using my Social Security number for free?
If you believe someone is using your Social Security number to work, get your tax refund, or other abuses involving taxes, contact the IRS online or call 1-800-908-4490. You can order free credit reports annually from the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).
Is your Medicare number your Social Security number?
Your card has a Medicare Number that's unique to you — it's not your Social Security Number. This helps protect your identity. The card shows: You have Medicare Part A (listed as HOSPITAL), Part B (listed as MEDICAL), or both.
Will the new Medicare cards be plastic?
The short answer is no. Medicare is not replacing your paper card with a plastic chip card. Scammers tried this con a few years ago. They've apparently fired it up again, as a lot of viewers are telling us about getting this call.
Can I put my Medicare card in my apple wallet?
Medicare doesn't appear to be supported on Apple Wallet just yet, and much like how Transport for NSW is testing a digital Opal card for Apple Wallet, we suspect Medicare on Apple Wallet is one of those things that might take a little bit of time.
Should you keep your health card in your wallet?
Not only will they be billed to you, but the doctor visits could mess with your medical records like your drug allergies. You really only need the physical card the first time you visit a doctor's office, where the staff will keep a photocopy in its records, says Siciliano.
What to do if your Medicare card is stolen?
Also, if your Medicare card has been lost or stolen, watch out for Medicare fraud. Check your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) for services you did not receive, and if you spot any, report them to the Inspector General’s fraud hotline at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
How to report Medicare fraud?
Check your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) for services you did not receive, and if you spot any, report them to the Inspector General’s fraud hotline at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477). You can also get help from your local Senior Medicare Patrol.
How long does it take to get a replacement Medicare card?
You should get your new card in the mail within 30 days. Your Medicare card, Social Security card, and other health insurance cards are very important documents.
How does Medicare help?
Medicare helped by removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and replacing them with a new, unique number for each person with Medicare. This decreases your vulnerability to medical and/or identity theft.
Can Medicare contact you if you have a Social Security number?
Here are some important steps you can take to protect yourself from the identity theft that can lead to health care fraud: Don’t share or confirm your Medicare or Social Security number with anyone who contacts you by telephone, email, or in person, unless you’ve given them permission in advance. Medicare will NEVER contact you (unless you ask them ...
Can Medicare contact you?
Medicare will NEVER contact you (unless you ask them to) to ask for your Medicare number or other personal information or to send you a new card. Medicare already has your information. Don’t ever let anyone borrow or pay to use your Medicare number.
What does Medicare check?
If you have Original Medicare, check your MSN. This notice shows the health care services, supplies, or equipment you got, what you were charged, and how much Medicare paid. If you’re in a Medicare health plan, check the statements you get from your plan.
What is identity theft?
Identity theft is a serious crime that happens when someone uses your personal information without your consent to commit fraud or other crimes. Personal information includes things like your name and your Social Security, Medicare, or credit card numbers.
When you get health care services, record the dates on a calendar and save the receipts and statements you get from
When you get health care services, record the dates on a calendar and save the receipts and statements you get from providers to check for mistakes. Compare this information with the claims Medicare processed to make sure you or Medicare weren’t billed for services or items you didn’t get.
Dear Consumer Ed
I hate giving out my Social Security number, but there are times when you really do not have a choice. How can Medicare protect me when my Social Security number is on my Medicare card and I frequently have to present the card at doctors’ offices, where my card is then photocopied?
Consumer Ed says
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 requires Medicare to remove the Social Security Number from all Medicare ID cards by April 2019. Medicare is spacing out the mailing of the new cards between April 2018 and April 2019, so you may receive your card at a different time than friends or neighbors.
What do scammers want from Medicare?
What the scammers really want, of course, is to get personal or financial information for the purposes of identity theft or outright theft. To thwart a Medicare card scam, follow some basic precautions.
Can you share your Social Security number?
Don’t share your Medicare or Social Security number (or other personal information) with anyone who contacts you out of the blue by phone, text or email or shows up unannounced at your door.
How to protect medical information from scammers?
Protect your medical information from scammers online and on your phone. Do not give your medical information to someone who calls, emails, or texts you unexpectedly. It could be a scammer trying to steal your information. Instead, log in to your online medical account from a website you know is real. Or contact the company or provider using ...
What is medical identity theft?
Medical identity theft is when someone uses your personal information — like your name, Social Security number, health insurance account number or Medicare number — to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, buy medical devices, submit claims with your insurance provider, or get other medical care. If the thief’s health information is mixed ...
What can a thief use your personal information for?
A thief that uses your personal information to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, buy medical devices, submit claims with your insurance provider, or get other medical care may also use it in other situations. Go to IdentityTheft.gov to create a personal recovery plan.
What to do if someone uses your medical information?
If you think someone is using your personal information to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, buy medical devices, submit claims with your insurance provider, or get other medical care, taking these steps will help you limit the damage.
How to get a copy of your medical records?
1. Get your medical records. Contact each doctor, clinic, hospital, pharmacy, laboratory, and health insurance company where the thief may have used your information. Explain the situation and ask for copies of these medical records. You may have to submit records request forms and pay fees to get copies of your records.
What to do if you don't have a shredder?
If you don’t have a shredder, look for a local shred day. If it’s something that’s hard to shred — like a prescription bottle — use a marker to block out any medical and personal information . If you get statements with medical information in the mail, take your mail out of the mailbox as soon as you can.
What to keep in a safe place?
Keep your medical records, health insurance records, and any other documents with medical information in a safe place. These may include. billing statements from your doctor or other medical provider. Explanation of Benefits statements from your health insurance company. An Explanation of Benefits statement tells you the doctor you visited, ...
