What does Medicare say about replacing Social Security numbers (SSNs) with unique identifiers?
Many government agencies and nonprofit organizations support the change to unique IDs on Medicare cards. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has published a number of reports on Social Security number use and its dangers. An official from the GAO commented to Consumers Union that he sees no reason why the Social Security number cant be removed from the Medicare card. Medicare says it has started talking about removing Social Security numbers, but this answer is too vague when other health insurers have already completed the process. One Medicare representative recommended that consumers should leave their Medicare cards at home unless they plan on traveling, but this could lead to inferior medical service in an emergency. We think consumers have the right to carry their insurance cards with them without incurring the risk of identity theft.
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