SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – You may have received a new Medicare card in the mail with a new ID number. On Your Side received several emails from viewers who were worried it was a scam. Instead, it's legal.
A few years ago, social security numbers no longer appeared on cards, so everyone received a Medicare ID number. Health plans change, but MBI usually stays the same. Instead, a data breach by a Medicare contractor put claims in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Nebraska at risk.
Patient information that may have been compromised includes names, social security numbers, hospital account numbers, and Medicare beneficiary identifiers (MBIs). About 1 million people received new ones.
This is the difficult part. You may receive a call to that effect, but it is a scam.
“Medicare never calls people to let them know about this,” said Trevor Warwick, a senior citizen. “If you get a call saying you need to get a new Medicare number and you want to make sure you have the correct number, just hang up. Never give personal information, including your MBI, over the phone. If you accidentally throw away your new card, you can still ask for backup.
If you think you've thrown away your Medicare card, you can apply to Social Security for a replacement card. Tags If you're involved in this violation, you can get 12 months of free credit monitoring, but do yourself a favor: Freeze your credit. . Doing so will block scammers from opening new lines of credit in your name. The news app has instructions for that. Also, check your credit report now to make sure there are no surprises.
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