Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: In the office, we heard that the mailing wave for the newly-designed Medicare cards with the new Medicare number are happening. But, what happens if, after the wave ends, a Medicare patient calls the office and says he did not receive his card?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: A message from MLN Connects® says that as of August 31, nearly 35 million new Medicare cards have been mailed.

“We started mailing new cards to people with Medicare who live in Wave 6 states this week and finished mailing cards to people who live in Waves 1, 2, 3 and 4 states,” according to the notice. “Because card mailing is progressing so well, we updated the mailing schedule to include an approximate start date for the last wave, and we are on track to finish mailing new cards to all people with Medicare before April 2019.”

By the time the mailing wave ends, if any of your Medicare patients call your office and say they have not received their card, then you should ask them to call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) where we can verify their identity, check their address, and help them get their new card. Additionally, you should ask the patients to continue to use their current card to get health care services until they get their new card.