Medicare vs. Social Security

Red tape and bureaucracy seem to be the leaders in the recently highlighted struggle between Medicare and the Social Security Administration over the display of social security numbers on members’ ID cards. While at least 31 states, various private entities and government agencies ceased using the PII (personally identifiable information) years ago, Medicare as recently as June claimed the suggested removal to protect affected consumers would be too costly and might startle or alarm beneficiaries.

Since the SSA’s founding in 1936, its numbering system has been relied upon as the identifier for such items as drivers’ licenses, employee records, bank and credit accounts and, as in the issue at hand, health records. However, in quite the impasse, most Americans are not legally required to give their SSNs in order to receive services, albeit there is no law prohibiting companies from requesting it and denying services unless it is provided.

In May, the inspector general for the Social Security Administration released a report urging Medicare to stop using Social Security numbers, especially on wallet-sized cards patients receive and are told to carry. Additionally, last year, the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo ordering federal agencies to stop the unnecessary use of Social Security numbers as identification.

Also, federal legislation is pending in the form of H.R. 3046 (Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2007) which would limit the use of SSN as an identifier by government and business, and as recently as this summer New Hampshire congressman Paul Hodes introduced the Medicare Card Security Act (H.R. 6399) to protect seniors by amending the Social Security Act in this manner.

While this potentially dangerous nine digit sequence is still widely in use, actions are in effect at citizen and government levels to protect us from giving a free pass to identity thieves. We may still be at risk, but protection of our SSN by not carrying, displaying or providing it verbally unless absolutely required to do so should be at the heart of our defensive efforts.