The redesigned cards feature a randomly-assigned 11-character identifier instead of Social Security numbers to “prevent fraud, combat identity theft and safeguard taxpayer dollars,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said.
CMS will start mailing the cards to approximately 58 million members next April to meet a deadline to replace all existing cards by April 2019.
During the transition, healthcare providers and Medicare members will be able to use a look-up tool to access the new identifiers. Physicians, healthcare providers and suppliers can use either existing SSN-based Medicare numbers or the new one during a 21-month transition period.
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