Schumer: Standard Medicare ID Card Leaves Over 1.6 Million Upstate NY Seniors & Disabled Wide Open To Identity Theft - Demands Scrub Of Social Security Numbers From IDs

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Schumer: Standard Medicare ID Card Leaves Over 1.6 Million Upstate NY Seniors & Disabled Wide Open To Identity Theft - Demands Scrub Of Social Security Numbers From IDs

ID Cards Place SSN in Plain Sight, Putting Medicare Beneficiaries at Risk of Identity Theft - 173K Cap Region Residents at Risk; 177K in CNY; 389K in HV; 118K in the North Country; 304K in Rochester Area; 134K in ST; 386K in WNY Medicare Agency Shockingly Claims It Would Cost Too Much to Make Common Sense Change to Cards - Private Insurance Companies Have Already Stopped Printing SSNs on Cards Due to High Risk of Theft Schumer Pushes Bill to Block Medicare from Using Full SSNs on Medicare Identity Cards

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that the current format of standard Medicare identification cards, which places the beneficiary's full Social Security Number (SSN) in plain view, leaves over 1.6 million Upstate New York seniors and disabled individuals wide open to identity theft if the cards are stolen or copied. Medicare is one of the last health insurance providers to keep Social Security numbers on identity cards - BlueCross BlueShield and other private insurance companies put an end to the practice several years ago.

In response to concerns raised by Social Security officials and seniors, Senator Schumer is pushing a bill to block the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from using full social security numbers on its identity cards. The bill would enable the Department of Health and Human Services to use money from its administrative budget in order to pay for the changes.

"It is unthinkable that Medicare leaves its beneficiaries so wide open to identity theft by continuing to print social security numbers on standard identification cards," Senator Schumer said. "Millions of Upstate New York seniors and the disabled are put at risk every time they use the card, take out their wallet or even carry their pocketbooks. Medicare advises beneficiaries to carry their cards at all times, but then insists on using an identification number that puts New York seniors at constant risk of identity theft. I will work tirelessly to make sure that Medicare removes the Social Security Numbers from these much-used identifications just like other insurance companies have done."

While most private insurance companies have wiped SSN's from patient identification cards, Medicare continues to leave the personal information on its standard identification card, putting over 1.6 million Upstate New York seniors and disabled at risk of identity theft. Medicare has claimed that it would cost too much to make the common sense change that would protect nearly two million Upstate New Yorkers.

In a May 2008 Social Security Administration (SSA) report, the agency warned of the risks associated with displaying SSN's on Medicare cards. The report reads, "…each time an individual divulges his or her SSN, the potential for someone to illegally gain access to personal information increases. For example, many individuals carry their Medicare cards in their wallets or purses and could become victims of identity theft should dishonest individuals steal such items or lift their Medicare number from a beneficiary card or medical document." Additionally, the SSA report notes that the "Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported on the vulnerabilities associated with the display of SSNs on identity and eligibility cards issued" by government agencies. The SSA report continues, "Specifically, GAO state that cardholders are often required to use their card at the point of service, which means a practical need to carry and display it often, thus increasing the likelihood for accidental loss, theft, or visual exposure. GAO concluded that continued display of SSNs on identification cards presented a risk of identity theft."

The SSA report concluded that "while we recognize SSA cannot prohibit CMS from using SSNs as its primary beneficiary identifier, we believe it can help reduce the potential threats to SSN integrity by taking a proactive role in supporting legislation that would mandate the removal of SSNs from Medicare cards." Congress, however, has the authority to ban Medicare from printing the numbers on the commonly-used identification cards.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud and can easily occur with a stolen identification document or even a stolen number as the identification cards are often scanned at medical offices. A 2007 FTC report showed that 8.3 million U.S. adults nationwide discovered they were victims of some of form of ID theft in 2006. The median value of the goods and services obtained by the identity thieves was $500, while ten percent of victims reported the thief had obtained $6,000 or more. A recent poll by Consumer Reports, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, found that Americans are widely concerned about the availability of Social Security numbers, with 91 percent agreeing they are more vulnerable to identity theft when a business has their number.

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