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Congressman Paul Hodes announced that he has introduced legislation that would help protect seniors from becoming the victims of identity theft.
H.R. 6399, the Medicare Card Security Act, would prohibit displaying Social Security Numbers on seniors’ Medicare cards.
Over eight million Americans were the victims of identity theft costing the US economy over 15 billion dollars. The Social Security Administration insists on its website that citizens should not “routinely carry your Social Security card or other documents that display your number” in order to prevent identity theft.
But, Medicare issues cards to over 44 million Americans clearly displaying the beneficiary’s Social Security Number. According to a General Accounting Office Report released last year and despite Congressional instructions to accelerate ongoing plans to convert the beneficiary identifiers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do not plan to remove the Social Security Number from Medicare identification cards.
“Millions of American seniors enroll in Medicare to gain access to vital health care services. Enrolling in Medicare should not leave our parents and grandparents vulnerable to the crime of identity theft that could endanger their retirement,” Congressman Paul Hodes said. “This legislation will help prevent our seniors from becoming the next victim.”
Nearly 200,000 New Hampshire seniors are eligible for Medicare and 606 New Hampshire residents were the victims of identity theft in 2006. Seniors on average make up 20% of victims of identity theft.
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