Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 17, 2008)

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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. Kohl):

S. 3512. A bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to remove social security account numbers from Medicare identification cards and communications provided to Medicare beneficiaries in order to protect Medicare beneficiaries from identity theft; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation with Senator Bingaman and Senator Kohl to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare identification cards.

Government agencies and private businesses have begun to recognize the danger of displaying Social Security numbers. A person's Social Security number can unlock a treasure trove of personal and financial information.

If your Social Security number falls into the wrong hands, you are at risk of becoming a victim of identify theft and fraud. In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission reported that more than 8 million Americans were victims of identity theft in the prior year.

Thirty-one states have enacted laws that limit how public and private entities use and display Social Security numbers. Social Security numbers are being removed from driver's licenses, and most private health insurance cards no longer display your Social Security number.

Federal agencies are taking steps to reduce the threat of identify theft. Last year, the Office of Management and Budget called on federal agencies to establish plans to eliminate unnecessary collection and use of Social Security numbers and to explore alternatives to Social Security numbers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs no longer displays Social Security numbers on new veteran identification cards. And the Office of Personnel Management has directed health insurers participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program to eliminate Social Security numbers from insurance cards.

Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is lagging behind other agencies.

The same Social Security number that the Social Security Administration believes is so sensitive that it should not be carried in your wallet is found on the Medicare cards that 44 million beneficiaries carry with them at all times to access health care services. CMS expressly instructs Medicare beneficiaries to carry their Medicare card in their wallet or purse as proof of insurance, making their Social Security numbers readily available to any thief.

In 2005, I offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2006 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill to require CMS to report to Congress on what steps would be necessary for them to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards.

CMS issued the report in 2006, but it has not yet begun to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards.

Earlier this year, the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration took CMS to task for its inaction. The Inspector General's report confirmed that displaying Social Security numbers on Medicare cards places millions of people at risk for identity theft and concluded that ``immediate action is needed to address this significant vulnerability.''

The bill that I am introducing today, the Social Security Number Protection Act of 2008, establishes a reasonable timetable for CMS to begin removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and a date certain by which CMS would be required to complete the process.

Not later than three years after enactment, CMS would be prohibited from displaying Social Security numbers on newly issued Medicare cards. CMS would be prohibited from displaying the number on existing cards no later than five years after enactment.

In addition to Medicare cards, the bill would prohibit CMS from displaying Social Security numbers on all written and electronic communications to Medicare beneficiaries, beginning no later than three years of enactment, except in cases where their display is essential for the operation of the Medicare program.

Removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and communications to Medicare beneficiaries is long overdue. Medicare beneficiaries should not be placed at greater risk of identity theft than people with private health insurance. If other federal agencies can remove Social Security numbers, so can CMS.

I am pleased that Consumers Union, the Medicare Rights Center, and the Center for Medicare Advocacy have endorsed this bill.

This is an issue we should all be able to unite behind. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and work with me to enact it next year. Medicare beneficiaries deserve to be protected from criminals who seek to steal their identities in order to defraud them.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

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