This article was first published in the March 15 issue of The Mountain-Ear.

Serene Karplus, Nederland.

Starting in April, 2018, Medicare will begin mailing new cards to everyone who gets Medicare benefits. Why? To help protect identity. Medicare is removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and replacing them with a unique Medicare Number. Medicare recipients don’t need to do anything or pay to get the new card and their coverage and benefits will stay the same.

Medicare will mail the cards at no cost to the address on file with the Social Security Administration. If an update to an official mailing address is needed, it can be done online in the recipient’s private personal Social Security account at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ or by calling 1-800-772-1213.

When the new card arrives, be sure to destroy the old card. Don’t just toss it in the trash - shred it. Those with a separate Medicare Advantage card need to keep that card because it is still needed for treatment. Please note that the cards are again made of paper because it is easier for many medical providers to scan these into their systems.

Friends or family living elsewhere may receive their cards long before Colorado residents because the cards will be mailed in waves to various parts of the country for an entire year. While some states will begin receiving the new cards as early as this April, Colorado is scheduled for “after June”, which could mean anytime from June through April, 2019, when the rollout will be completed.

Only share the new Medicare Number with doctors and other health care providers directly serving you, insurers you do business with, pharmacists, or people in your community you trust to work with Medicare on your behalf. Such community workers might include the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) or our local Area

Agency on Aging (AAA) Options and Medicare Counselors. Our AAA Representative in the mountains who can help with Medicare questions and issues is Colleen Sinclair, with office hours in Nederland on Mondays and Wednesdays at 303-258-3068.

The mailing of the new Medicare cards will surely prompt new scams and we need to be vigilant to avoid them. Scam artists may try to get personal information (like the new Medicare Number) by contacting you about your new card. You do not need to respond to any caller to get the new Medicare Number and card. If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Fraud prevention tips:

Don’t pay for your new card. It will be mailed free. If anyone calls saying you need to pay for it, it is a scam.

Don’t give personal information to get your card. If someone calls claiming to be from Medicare, asking for a Social Security number or bank information, it is a scam. Hang up. Medicare will never ask for personal information to get the new number and card.

Guard your card. Safeguard the new card like any other health insurance or credit card. Although removing the Social Security number cuts down on many types of identity theft, the card still needs secure protection because identity thieves could use it to get medical services.

If your Medicare card is lost, stolen or damaged, you can ask Social Security for a new one. See the information above regarding changes of address to find the links and phone number. The replacement card arrives in the mail in about 30 days at the address on file. If needed within 10 days, request a letter. If needed immediately (say, for a prescription), visit the local Social Security office, the nearest to us being at 480 Dahlia Street, Louisville, or in Denver or Lakewood.

For more information about changes to your Medicare card go to go.medicare.gov/newcard. If you are a victim of a scam, report it to the FTC at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1.

The above information was provided by Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, Attorney, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education and the websites listed.

We are so Lucky! Please inform friends, especially those in Boulder, to please contribute to our nonprofit Nederland Area Seniors (host of Mountain MidLife) with their “wooden nickels” (10 cent bag credits, when they bring their own bag) at the checkout counter at Lucky’s Market North at Broadway and Quince. We are only in this program from now until May 16, 2018. Thank you!

All adults are welcome at all Mountain MidLife and Nederland Area Seniors events, attended mostly by folks over age 50. All ages adults are invited to all meals at the Nederland Community Center. Please call two days ahead for lunch reservations (more for dinners and breakfasts if possible) to 303-258-0799. Missed the deadline? Call anyway. Costs listed show first the over-age-60 requested anonymous contribution, then the under-age-60 price. Please note that all over age 60 are welcome regardless of ability to contribute financially.