Below is a legislative bulletin from Social Security, but please notice the footnote.
On September 29, 2008, the House suspended the rules and passed H.R. 6600, the “Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2008,” by voice vote. The bill now goes to the Senate. 1
Provisions of interest to the Social Security Administration are described below.
• Would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Commissioner, to establish cost-effective procedures to ensure that Social Security numbers (SSNs) or derivatives thereof would not be displayed on or embedded in Medicare cards.
• Would be effective with respect to Medicare cards issued on or after the effective date determined by the Secretary but in no case would such a date be later than 24 months after the date adequate funding is provided (see penultimate bullet below).
• Would provide that all Medicare cards with SSNs be reissued under the new requirements no later that 3 years after effective date specified above.
• Would allow individuals to apply for reissuance of Medicare cards before the general reissuance effective date under exceptional circumstances as the Secretary would specify.
• Would require the Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner, to develop an outreach program about the new Medicare cards.
• Would require the Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner, to submit a report to Congress with options for implementation of the requirements, including costs estimates and justifications of the costs associated with each option. The report would be required no later than 1 year after enactment.
• Would provide that the requirements would not take effect until adequate funding is provided.
• Would authorize, after the report is submitted, appropriations to the Secretary and Commissioner for administrative expenses for each of the 5 fiscal years related to implementation of the bill.
1 It is unclear as of the date of this Bulletin whether the Senate will take action on the bill before the 110th Congress adjourns.
4 comments:
Regardless of whether Congress directs that HHS (Health and Human Serivces) or CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) do this, this will create a large workload for SSA (Social Security Administration)field offices. Despite the fact that Medicare was removed from SSA's authority in about 1978 with the creation of HCFA (Health Care Finance Administration, predecessor of CMS), Medicare beneficiaries continue to call SSA for Medicare coverage and deductible questions, etc. Congress will have to be sure to provide SSA with extra money for this workload.
This is actually a great idea. I grew up in a state where they still put your SS# on your driver's license. They quit that a few years ago. Also, I get inquiries all the time about how to get a new SS# card... their's was either lost or stolen. We've got to take steps to improve security.
If any two organizations in government have the right to use the SSN its's SSA and CMS. Yet because of decades of allowing the untrammeled use of the SSN by private industry and the resultant establishment of the SSN as a very poor but good enough to mess up people's lives identifier, now the taxpayer will have to pay to have the SSN taken off of the medicare card. I see that the idea of limiting or restricting use of the SSN by financial and other industries never gets far, so instead the taxpayer pays for the fact the SSN is being misused.
Since the benefit claim number is the individual's Medicare number, what good is a Medicare card without the claim number. Mom and Pop will be running into Social Security offices, because they can remember their Medicare claim number.
Might as well remove Social Security numbers from SSN card too while they are at it. Makes as mush sense.
If they want to do something useful for identity theft, they should have the Privacy Act covered everyone, not just government.
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