Robert Pear

Social Security seeks removal of numbers

WASHINGTON – Social Security officials, concerned about the risk of identity theft, are calling for immediate action to remove Social Security numbers from the Medicare cards used by millions of Americans.

Medicare officials have resisted the proposal, saying it would be costly and impractical.

In a new report, the inspector general of Social Security, Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr., says that “immediate action is needed.”

“Displaying such information on Medicare cards unnecessarily places millions of individuals at risk for identity theft,” O'Carroll said. “We do not believe a federal agency should place more value on convenience than the security of its beneficiaries' personal information.”

In a memorandum to the heads of federal departments and agencies in May 2007, Clay Johnson III, deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said they should draw up plans to “eliminate the unnecessary collection and use of Social Security numbers within 18 months.” Social Security cannot prohibit the Medicare agency from using Social Security numbers, though Congress could do so.

Federal officials said more 40 million people who are 65 and older or disabled have Medicare cards with Social Security numbers on them.

Charlene Frizzera, chief operating officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, downplayed the risk of identity theft from the misuse of Medicare cards. She said that if the government suddenly issued new Medicare cards or identification numbers, it could startle or alarm beneficiaries.

“We don't want to scare them,” Frizzera said.

Most private insurance companies have abandoned the use of Social Security numbers as identifiers because many states forbid it. Gail Hillebrand, a lawyer at Consumers Union, said, “A person holding a private health insurance card has more privacy protections than a person holding a Medicare card.”

Frizzera, the Medicare official, said issuing new Medicare cards would be “a huge undertaking.” The agency would need three years to plan such a move and eight more years to carry it out, she said.

Medicare officials estimate it would cost $500 million to change computer systems if they issued new ID numbers. Doctors, hospitals and other health care providers use those numbers in filing claims with Medicare, which pays a billion claims a year.

A survey by America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group, found at least 31 states had laws prohibiting or restricting the use and display of Social Security numbers.

Many are modeled on a 2001 California law that says companies cannot print a person's Social Security number on any card needed to obtain goods or services offered by the companies.

In his report, O'Carroll noted that Social Security numbers are “linked to vast amounts of personal information.”

“Many individuals carry their Medicare cards in their wallets or purses and could become victims of identity theft should dishonest individuals steal such items or lift their Medicare number from a beneficiary card or medical document,” O'Carroll said.

Other federal agencies are taking steps to remove Social Security numbers from identification cards. The Department of Veterans Affairs said ID cards issued to veterans generally don't display Social Security numbers.