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Dear Avisery Members,
We wanted to share an important announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about a Medicare data breach. In late July, CMS announced a data breach that occurred in May 2023 from software used by a Medicare contractor, Maximus Federal Services, Inc. Maximus is an entity contracted by Medicare to review appeals for Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans. The breach impacted approximately 612,000 current Medicare beneficiaries and included their personally identifiable information and personal Medicare health information.
As a result, CMS and Maximus are mailing letters to affected individuals notifying them of the breach and their options. The letter explains which information may have been compromised and offers beneficiaries free credit monitoring for 24 months and a free credit report. The letter also informs beneficiaries that if their Medicare number (also referred to as a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or MBI) was compromised that they will be receiving a new Medicare card and Medicare number in the mail within the next few weeks.
A recent CMS newsletter for providers reported that 47,000 beneficiaries will be receiving new Medicare cards with a new Medicare number. It also instructs providers on how to look up the new number for beneficiaries who are being issued new Medicare number, but have yet to receive the new card.
For additional information, please refer to the following CMS press release: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-responding-data-breach-contractor.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email avisery@ageoptions.org
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