#Getting a new medical card full#

Billing specialists and providers will ask to see your card so they know whom to bill. (If you are enrolled in an MA plan, you’ll use your MA card). If you are enrolled in Original Medicare, you’ll use your Medicare card when you’re at the doctor’s office or in the hospital. Your Medicare number is no longer your Social Security number, but a more secure combination of letters and numbers that helps protect you from identity theft. You should use your MA card as your primary Medicare card, but you should still keep your Medicare card in a safe place. If your plan covers prescription drugs, your MA card will include that information too. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) Plan, you will receive a separate ID card. Your coverage starting date for Part B is also included. Part B-If you have Part B, labeled MEDICAL, you are entitled to medical care and preventive services.

The date your coverage begins is also included.

Part A-If you have Part A, labeled HOSPITAL, you are entitled to care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility, hospice care and home healthcare.

It is confidential and should only be shared with people you trust. Your Medicare number used to be your Social Security number (SSN), but now it’s a more secure, randomly generated combination of 11 numerals and capital letters. It’s what the billing department will use when it submits for reimbursement from Medicare.

Medicare number-This is one of the most important pieces of information on your Medicare card.

#Getting a new medical card full#

What Information Is on Your Medicare Card?īesides your full name, your Medicare card includes your Medicare number as well as important information about the health insurance coverage to which you are entitled. Replacing a lost card is easy: You can get a new one through your online Social Security account, by calling 1-80, or by going to a local Social Security office.Ī red-white-and-blue paper Medicare card is mailed to adults who are turning 65 and enrolled in Medicare. Your card lets healthcare providers know whether you have Medicare Part A (“HOSPITAL”) or Part B (“MEDICAL”) or both, and the starting date of your coverage. Be sure to keep it in a safe place when you’re not using it. Your Medicare card is proof that you have Medicare health insurance. Here’s what else you should know about the card, when you can expect to get it if you don’t have one yet-and what happens if you lose it. You can carry your Medicare card with you when you have a doctor’s appointment, but it still needs to be protected. Today, your Medicare number is no longer your SSN. Your personal information could be used fraudulently to obtain medical care or submit billing to Medicare in your name.

If it is lost or stolen and gets into the wrong hands, you could be the victim of identity theft. Experts have long warned against carrying your SSN in your wallet. Should you carry your Medicare card in your wallet? In the past, the answer was “no” because your Medicare number used to be the same as your Social Security number (SSN).