As you may already know, over the next year people with Medicare will be mailed new Medicare cards, with Maryland being in the first wave of the mailings (between April and June). To make everyone aware that the new cards are coming (there are approximately 47,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Howard County), we would appreciate it if you would distribute information to your clients, membership and/or staff. Below you will find a few quick background comments as well as links to information about the new Medicare cards in a variety of formats and sizes; use the ones that best fit how your organization communicates.
New Medicare Cards
The new cards have a Medicare number that is unique to each person, instead of their Social Security number. This will protect people’s identities and keep their information safe.
People with Medicare do not need to take any action to get their new card and there is no cost. But it is very important that they make sure that their mailing address is up-to-date. If their mailing address needs to be corrected (perhaps because of a recent move), they need to contact Social Security at ssa.gov/myaccount or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778) Since there have already been reports of scam artists trying to take advantage of this change, people should beware of anyone contacting them about the new Medicare card; Medicare will not contact people to ask them about their personal information or to collect a fee to get their new Medicare Number or card. Information you can share with your clients, members and/or staff Click on the links to access the information:
Print ‘ad’ with information to update mailing address
Flyers in English, Spanish and Korean (flyers for other languages will shortly be added to the Howard County SHIP webpage, www.howardcountymd.gov/ship)
Video about new card
Article about new Medicare cards from the Howard County SHIP program
If you have any questions contact Barbara Albert 410-313-7391 or Ayse Tokbay 410-313-7389.
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