Joint Hearing of the Health Subcommittee and the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee - Removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare Cards

Hearing

"Identity theft is a serious problem, and seniors and disabled Americans are particularly vulnerable.

"Nearly nine million Americans a year have their identities stolen. According to the FTC, a typical theft costs the victim about $500 -- a significant loss to someone living on a fixed income. In the worst cases thieves stole an average of $13,000, and their victims spent an average of 130 hours trying to clear their credit and prevent additional thefts.

"Seniors and disabled Americans are particularly vulnerable.

"First, they have relatively low incomes, so even a modest theft can be devastating. The median income for a senior household is about $25,000 a year. More than half of disabled Americans receiving Social Security and Medicare live in poverty, even with their Social Security benefits.

"Second, seniors and disabled Americans carry their Social Security numbers in their wallets on their Medicare cards, making them more available to thieves.

"I support removing the Social Security number from the Medicare card, but making seniors more secure will require resources. Although it may sound simple, giving 49 million Americans new Medicare ID numbers and making sure they can still fully access their benefits is a big job.

"The job is made more difficult because a series of Republican budget cuts has left the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration struggling to keep up with their basic work -- just as the Baby Boomers reach retirement age.

"Since 2010, Social Security field offices, which take Medicare applications, issue Medicare cards, and provide in-person customer service to Medicare beneficiaries, have lost nearly 2,300 employees (8 percent of their total staff) to budget cuts. Social Security offices are closing to the public half an hour early, and waiting times for phone service and initial disability benefits are rising.

"House Republicans recently proposed cutting Social Security's Fiscal Year 2013 budget by nearly $800 million below 2012 levels. Shortchanging Social Security makes it likely that the agency will have to furlough or lay off staff and may create a backlog of retirement applications for the first time in its history.

"Similarly, CMS funding has failed to keep up with their growing responsibilities -- their per-beneficiary operating budget has declined by 14 percent since 2004. The House Republican bill would cut CMS's funding by over $400 million (10%). We need to provide the resources so that CMS can better protect seniors from identity theft.

"The Bush Administration failed to solve this problem when GAO first identified it in 2004, and it is still not solved, despite strong support in our Committee and the House passing Chairman Johnson and Mr. Doggett's bill, H.R. 6600, in 2008.

"Congress first directed HHS to address this issue in 2005 (in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill). In 2007, the Bush Administration failed to make CMS comply with an executive order to eliminate unnecessary use of the SSN.

"Most recently, CMS produced a cost estimate for removing the SSN from Medicare cards, as we requested, but as GAO has pointed out, there may be significant flaws in that estimate.

"I hope that CMS is ready to partner with us to solve this problem, starting with providing a comprehensive and reliable cost estimate. Once they do, I hope my Republican colleagues will work with us to provide the funding and finally get this process moving to protect seniors."

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