Dive Brief:
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The CMS revealed Tuesday new Medicare cards that were designed with the goal of taking on identity theft and safeguarding taxpayer dollars by reducing Medicare fraud.
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Social Security numbers were removed from the Medicare cards and they will instead have a randomly-assigned Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) number.
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The CMS will begin sending out the cards in April 2018 and will replace all of them by April 2019.
Dive Insight:
With a combination of numbers and uppercase letters, the new cards will allow providers and beneficiaries to use “secure look-up tools that will support quick access to MBIs when they need them,” according to the CMS. Providers will still be able to use the Social Security number during a 21-month transition. The new cards are part of a larger initiative that began with MACRA.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), state investigators and the CMS have all been working on trying to stamp out Medicare fraud. Just over the past month, there have been cases and lawsuits involving alleged overbilling, fraudulent medical billing and kickbacks and money laundering.
In addition, seniors have become prime scam victims. Identity theft among seniors increased from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014, according to the DOJ. However, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged nearly 3,000 defendants since its creation 10 years ago. Those defendants allegedly billed the Medicare program combined for more than $11 billion, the DOJ reported.
On the other hand, billing processes can be confusing. These can result in inadvertent fraudulent claims. Venson Wallin, consulting managing director at accounting firm BDO, recently shared with Healthcare Dive three tips for combating healthcare fraud: monitor billing and claims data; review your compliance program; evaluate your contracts and networks.