Page 8 - Retiree News Spring 2018

Medicare to replace cards; remove Social Security numbers
To help protect your identity, Medicare will remove Social Security numbers and begin mailing new cards to everyone who receives benefits through the federal program.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been directed to remove Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A
new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the Social Security number-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on new Medicare cards.
Beginning in April 2018, CMS will start mailing the replacement Medicare cards with the MBI to existing Medicare enrollees.
Each MBI is a unique, randomly-generated,
11-character number
made up only of numbers and uppercase letters.
The characters are “non- intelligent,” which means they don’t have any hidden or special meaning.
The new MBI will help protect private health care and financial information and will be coordinated with the U.S. Social Security Administration and health care providers. The state Department of Civil Service, administrator of the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), is looking at
any impact the new MBI numbers will have for NYSHIP enrollees and
will communicate any
new information in future periodicals.
Medicare enrollees may start using their new Medicare cards and MBIs as soon as they get them.
For more information, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. You can also visit the CMS website for more information on the distribution of new cards: go.medicare.gov/newcard.
New Medicare card
Sheri Dozier Owens, from the State Comptroller’s Office, Office of Unclaimed Funds, right, tells Syracuse Area Retirees Local 914 member Laurie Hoalcraft, who recently retired from Upstate Medical University Hospital, that she found unclaimed funds for her.
Check online to see if you have unclaimed funds by visiting the Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds at: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf or call 800-21-9311.
etiree NEWS is published to share information and generate
ideas on subjects important to retirees.
Published by CSEA
143 Washington Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12210
(518) 257-1000
(800) 342-4146 cseany.org
Danny Donohue, President
CSEA
Local 1000 AFSCME AFL-CIO
R