Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2012
Official title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to prohibit the inclusion of Social Security account numbers on Medicare cards.
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish cost-effective procedures to ensure that: (1) a Social Security account number (or any derivative) is not displayed, coded, or embedded on the Medicare card issued to an individual entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act or enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); and (2) any other identifier displayed on such card is easily identifiable as not being the Social Security account number (or a derivative).
Requires the Secretary, in implementing this Act, to: (1) establish a cost-effective process that involves the least amount of disruption to Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers; and (2) consider implementing a process similar to the one involving Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries under which the Medicare beneficiary identifier used is not a Social Security account number (or derivative), is external to HHS, and is convertible over to a Social Security account number (or derivative) for use internal to HHS and the Social Security Administration.
Applies these requirements to Medicare cards issued on and after an effective date, specified by the Secretary, which shall not be later than three years after enactment of this Act. Requires reissuance of existing Medicare cards within those three years to comply with this Act, but also permits individuals to apply for reissuance earlier than the official reissuance date.
Makes amounts from the Medicare Improvement Fund available for transfer to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Program Management Account to offset the costs of implementing this Act. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary to enter into an agreement for such funding, and keep a detailed accounting for submission to Congress.
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to examine whether the Medicare program should use smart card technology for Medicare beneficiary cards and provider membership cards.
- Engrossed in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- Referred in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1509: Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2012. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-1509/
"H.R. 1509: Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2012." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-1509/.
H.R. 1509, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-1509/.
[H.R. 1509: Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2012](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-1509/)