overheard at pharmacy today 9/17/2018 the new medicare cards do not work for the flu shot, please keep your old card also for a while. (who knows what else won't work?)
I am not surprised and this is just ONE, only ONE of the reasons I hate that we began to be required by our arrogant government to be forced to share our sensitive SS information with SO MANY PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS...just doesn't make sense. A better solution as I've always advocated since this stupid practice began is a state issues ID card
I am old enough to remember when people use to have their social security number imprinted on their checks, along with their home address and telephone number. Fast forward to the past decade, my checks only have my initials and last name, nothing else.
Going to a doctor appointment with my parents, it was hard enough to have my very elderly parents remember to bring their wallets, which had their Medicare card, driving license with photo, and their secondary insurance card.
The idea of copying the Medicare card and blanking out all but the last four numbers is a good idea.... but maybe not for seniors with memory issues. I would have needed to pick up my parents a half hour earlier than normal so they could tear the house apart looking for the original Medicare card :P
The truth of this article, especially the length of time it's going to take to try to amend this unnecessary inconvenience caused BY THE PEOPLE in the federal government, when they could've just left well enough alone, and not even begin to use our Social Security numbers as a REQUIRED form of identification, which is so awfully STUPID, angered me so much so until my fingers couldn't seem to keep up with my thoughts, or was it that my thoughts couldn't seem to keep up with my fingers as I typed? Anyway, as a result I now see typographical/grammatical errors in my comments I left here. Still angry so if I've left even more of the same in this comment, I apologize. Thanks. Sorry.
I strongly feel that SSNs should NEVER be used as a form of identification. I'm old enough to remember when (on the very front of Social Security cards) was a one-line statement that "This card is not to be used for identification purposes." This was back when people had good sense, including good COMMON sense as well. Use driver's licenses or state ID cards with the person's photo included on the front. Since Social Security numbers are one of the main means of identity theft and other financial problems, why the h*ll did we got to this point in this time of scams, scams, and more scams? Why are they REQUIRED now as a means of identification? State ID cards would be safer and more appropriate a a means of having legitimate and safe-to-use identification that doesn't lead to fraud.
Unfortunately the method of blocking out a few numbers doesn't help when you have a live-in caregiver that takes your loved one to a new doctor or for some reason the blood test clinic who wants it every time. We've had the number stolen by caregiver. And credit card number stolen by another one.
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New Medicare Cards to Help Reduce Fraud
the new medicare cards do not work for the flu shot, please keep your old card also for a while.
(who knows what else won't work?)
Going to a doctor appointment with my parents, it was hard enough to have my very elderly parents remember to bring their wallets, which had their Medicare card, driving license with photo, and their secondary insurance card.
The idea of copying the Medicare card and blanking out all but the last four numbers is a good idea.... but maybe not for seniors with memory issues. I would have needed to pick up my parents a half hour earlier than normal so they could tear the house apart looking for the original Medicare card :P