The New Medicare Cards are Prompting Phone Scams

CMS will be mailing new Medicare cards to beneficiaries between April 2018 and April 2019. The new Medicare cards no longer include Social Security numbers. Beneficiaries should make sure their mailing address is up to date with the Social Security Administration. If beneficiaries need to update their address, they may contact Social Security at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Beneficiaries should beware of scammers calling as Medicare representatives regarding a charge for the new Medicare card and/or information about the new card number. Read more at https://cahealthadvocates.org/fraud-abuse/medicare-fraud-alerts/.

Medi-Cal Discrimination & Room-to-Room Tranfers

Did you know that effective January 1, 2002, if a nursing home resident changes to Medi-Cal payment status, the nursing home is prohibited from transferring a resident to another room as a result of that payment change, with the exception of transferring a resident from a private room to a semi-private room (Welfare and Institution Code §14124.7). Nursing homes are also prohibited from seeking to evict residents simply because of a change from private pay or Medicare to Medi-Cal benefits, including those with a Medi-Cal application pending. These provisions were included in AB 1731 (Shelley) in an attempt to provide equity and dignity to those receiving long term care under Medi-Cal.
For more information, contact the CANHR office.

Page Last Modified: June 21, 2018