The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will be removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare cards to prevent fraud, fight identity theft and keep taxpayer dollars safe. They will mail the new Medicare cards from April 2018 through April 2019. Learn how they will mail the new Medicare cards in phases by geographic location below.
New Medicare Card Mailing Strategy
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is required to remove Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A new, unique Medicare Number will replace the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on each new Medicare card. Starting April 2018, CMS will begin mailing new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare on a flow basis by geographic location and other factors.
These mailings will follow the sequence outlined below. Additional details on timing will be available as the mailings progress. Starting in April 2018, people with Medicare will be able to check the status of card mailings in their area on Medicare.gov.
| New Medicare Card Mailing Waves Wave | States Included | Cards Mailing |
| 1 | Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia | April – June 2018 |
| 2 | Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon | April – June 2018 |
| 3 | Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin | After June 2018 |
| 4 | Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont | After June 2018 |
| 5 | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina | After June 2018 |
| 6 | Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming | After June 2018 |
| 7 | Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virgin Islands | After June 2018
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