The Missouri SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol) is joining federal officials in a new campaign to help senior citizens protect their identity and help prevent health care fraud by guarding their Medicare cards like they would credit cards.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, identity theft from stolen Medicare numbers is becoming more common.

To help combat the problem, Medicare has begun the process of removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and replacing them with a new, unique number for each person with Medicare. Medicare will mail new Medicare cards with the new numbers between April 2018 and April 2019.

Meanwhile, here are some tips for Medicare recipients to protect themselves:

• Keep Medicare numbers private. Do not share the information with others by phone, email or in person. 

• Review Medicare Summary Notices to make sure the charges are accurate.

For those enrolling in a Medicare plan, there are no “early bird discounts” or “limited time offers.” People should be skeptical of hurried salespeople, free gifts, free medical services, discount packages or any offer that sounds “too good to be true.”

If a caller asks for a Medicare number or other personal information, hang up and call the Missouri SMP at 1-888-515-6565.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Administration on Aging, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.