Why is CMS issuing new Medicare cards and new Medicare numbers?

The law requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove Social Security
Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A new unique Medicare number will replace
the current Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on the new Medicare cards. We’re taking this
step to protect people with Medicare from fraudulent use of SSNs, which can lead to identity theft and
illegal use of Medicare benefits.

When will CMS mail the new cards to people with Medicare, and what is the mailing schedule?
We’ll begin mailing new cards in April 2018 and will meet the statutory deadline for replacing all Medicare
cards by April 2019. Your patients who are new to the Medicare program starting in April 2018 and
later will only have a card with the new Medicare number.

There will be geographical waves of successive mailings. Mailing everyone a new card will take some
time. To protect people with Medicare from scams associated with sharing the mailing schedule,
targeted local outreach will occur, including outreach to health care providers, before cards are due to
arrive in a geographical area.

What do I need to be ready for the change?

Your systems and business processes must be ready to accept the new Medicare number (which
we call the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or MBI in official guidance) by April 2018 for transactions,
such as billing, claim status, eligibility status, and interactions, with our Medicare Administrative
Contractor (MAC) contact centers.

There will be a transition period when you can use either the HICN or the MBI to exchange
data and information with us. The transition period will start April 1, 2018, and run through
December 31, 2019. However, your systems must be ready to accept the new MBI by April 1, 2018.
It’s especially important that you’re ready for people who are new to Medicare in April 2018 and later
because they’ll only get a card with the MBI.

We are wise to address any 'official' governmental change in ID cards for services WE PAY FOR with extreme vigilance.

Not to mention that the instructions tell you to treat it like your credit card and never share it with anyone except medical providers.

Those guys like information and they are not trustworthy about how they use it all. If they weren't finding ways to profit and/or market with information, they wouldn't be gathering so much. My concerns are how much information is Trump/GOP twerps allowing to slip into hands that shouldn't have it.

And I don't think the replacement numbers will do anything to alleviate those concerns.

The OP just got their new cards/numbers in2026?

Go back and review what I've added to the OP, so I don't have to add it in each comment.

The first replacement was well documented. This second batch is less well documented, but scammers don't have access to my Medicare account to change the number in the account. The number in my account matches the number on the new card they just sent me.

They have now issued two batches of new Medicare cards with new numbers. The first is well-documented, the second less so.

Review the information I added to the OP, so I didn't have to repeat it for each response in the thread.

I did all that research when my spouse got her card a week or two ago, and confirmed it was real.

I was just trying to give people a heads up so they didn't get caught off-guard and toss the card, then get hit with a lot of rejected claims because they were still using their old number. I didn't expect everyone in the thread to insist it was a scam (given how much fake stuff I debunk around here!).

due to security compromises. So there is that.

The first batch had an effective date of April 14.

I have only found one news report for this second issue with an effective date of June 17.

(And nothing formal, for either one, from Medicare - aside from the letter which came with the card.)

she contacted the medicals involved and Medicare. After confirming the fraud they just told her to keep an eye on any suspicious activity but said it didn't warrant a card replacement. I think they changed their mind and sent her a new card after. The musk fu mess.

If your sister got the same letter, she's apparently part of the second batch of cards issued with new numbers (unrelated to the charges in another state).