Medicare Corner
Medicare Part D (continued from previous page)
includes situations where a beneficiary states that they were enrolled into a plan without their knowledge or consent, and requests cancellation of the enrollment or disenrollment from the plan. For more information contact SHIP at (520) 546-2011 or email us at SHIP@pcoa.org. • If someone calls you and asks for your Medicare number or other personal information, hang up and call your local Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). How can I replace my Medicare card? If you need to replace your card because it’s damaged or lost, visit Medicare.gov to log into (or create) a secure Medicare account where you can print an official copy of your Medicare card. If you don’t have an account, visit medicare.gov/ account/login to create one. If you need to replace your card because you think that someone else is using your number, call the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) (1-877-808-2468) and 1-800-Medicare. Pima Council on Aging is your local SMP. For assistance, call (520) 546-2011. Source: https://www.smpresource.org/Content/ Medicare-Fraud/Medicare-Cards.aspx
Your Medicare Card Tips for Protecting Yourself: Here are some important steps you can take to protect yourself from the identity theft that can lead to health care fraud: • Don’t share or confirm your Medicare or Social Security number with anyone who contacts you by telephone, email, or in person, unless you’ve given them permission in advance. Medicare will NEVER contact you (unless you ask them to) to ask for your Medicare number or other personal information or to send you a new card. Medicare already has your information. • Don’t ever let anyone borrow or pay to use your Medicare number. • Review your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) to be sure you and Medicare are only being charged for actual items and services received. enrollments into or disenrollments from a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan that are not otherwise captured in regulation. Starting in 2023, CMS may grant SEPs to those who provide a verbal or written allegation that their enrollment into a plan was based on misleading or incorrect information provided by a plan representative or a SHIP counselor. This
There are also many SEPs for people already enrolled in Medicare to change how they receive their Medicare coverage. For example, to switch between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage or to join a new Part D or Medicare Advantage Plan. There is an SEP for individuals whom CMS determines have experienced exceptional circumstances related to
If you have Medicare, you can protect your identity and help prevent health care fraud by guarding your Medicare card like you would a credit card. Identity theft from stolen Medicare numbers is becoming more common. Medicare helped by removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and replacing them with a new, unique number for each person with Medicare. This decreases your vulnerability to medical and/or identity theft.
This project was supported in part by grant number 90MPPG0022, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy
Page 6 | February 2023, Never Too Late
Pima Council on Aging
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