CalCPA ProtectPlus

The following information can be found at the Medicare.gov.

If your Medicare card is lost, stolen or damaged, you can ask for a new by visiting the Medicare.gov website.

What is a Medicare Card?

• The Medicare card looks like the red, white and blue card shown here.
• Your Medicare card is your proof that you have Medicare health insurance.
• You can use this application only to request a Medicare card. If you need a Medicaid card, please contact your state Medicaid office.

What You Should Know

• Your Medicare card will arrive in the mail in about 30 days.
• It will be mailed to the address Social Security has on file for you.
• If you need proof that you have Medicare sooner than 30 days, you also can request a letter which you will receive in about 10 days.
• If you need proof immediately for your doctor or for a prescription, visit your nearest Social Security office.
• For security reasons, there is a 30 minute time limit to complete each page. You will be given notice when you are about to time out and can get more time to finish.
• You can read more about Social Security’s Internet policy here.

If You Have Moved

• If you have moved and have not reported this to us, you will need to report this change to us before we can process your request.
• If you have moved and have reported this to us recently, you will need to contact us before we can process your request.

Block access to your personal information

If you want to prevent online and automated telephone access to your personal information, you can block access to your personal information.

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The following information is from ihealthbeat.org:

Federal incentive payments have aided nationwide growth in the use of electronic prescriptions, according to a report from e-prescribing network operator Surescripts, Healthcare IT News reports.

The report — titled “The National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Interoperable Healthcare” — tracked the status of e-prescribing from 2008 to 2010 (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 5/12).

Key Findings

The number of new e-prescriptions and replies to pharmacies’ electronic renewal requests increased from 191 million in 2009 to more than 326 million in 2010 — a 72% growth rate — the report found.

The report noted that:

• About 36% of office-based physicians were sending their prescriptions to the pharmacy electronically by the end of 2010, compared with 26% the prior year;
• About 190,000 physicians were e-prescribing at the end of 2010;
• About one in four prescriptions were electronic by the end of 2010;
• The number of prescription histories electronically delivered to prescribers increased to 230 million in 2010 from 81 million in 2009 (Lowes, Medscape, 5/11); and
• E-prescribing rates are highest among cardiologists — at 49% — and family practitioners — at 47% (Healthcare IT News, 5/12).

Explaining the Growth

Surescripts said two federal incentive programs helped push the growth in e-prescribing:

• The 2009 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, which gave physicians a 2% Medicare bonus in 2010 for e-prescribing with approved software; and
• The 2009 economic stimulus package, which includes Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records. E-prescribing is one of the meaningful use requirements (Medscape, 5/11).

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In an effort to reduce Medicare costs, Congress passed the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA) on December 29, 2007. Because Medicare has been unable to identify primary payers consistently, Section 111 of the new Act (MMSEA) imposes mandatory reporting requirements for fully insured and self-funded group health plans.

These requirements impose an obligation on primary payers to identify claimants entitled to Medicare and to report those claims to Medicare electronically.

As of July 1, 2009. Health plans are required to report specific member eligibility data for members who meet certain age or disability criteria. The reporting rules apply to covered individuals age 45 and older for groups with 20 or more full or part-time active employees. (continue reading…)