Question: How do I replace my old, warn out, hard-to-read Medicare card?

Answer: After Jan. 1, 2020 the Medicare Card with your Social Security number on it, will no longer be valid. So you must have a new Medicare card in your wallet.

You are eligible for Medicare and therefore need to carry your Medicare card with you.

When you approach your 65th birthday month and you are collecting Social Security benefits, Medicare sends you information about its products and your paper Medicare card. This card is mailed to you from CMS, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

You may have had that Medicare card a long time, or maybe yours went through the wash, has gotten torn or is hard to read. Paper cards do not hold up as well in our wallets or to regular handling as plastic cards do.

You may have lost track of your Medicare card. The result is the same, you need a replacement card. The solution is easier than it has ever been.

The new updated, medicare.gov and mymedicare.gov websites provide a way to order your Medicare Card directly. These websites do require you create a login and password, but once that is done, you can log on any time, anywhere and print out or order a new Medicare card.

In the past we could only get a new Medicare card by contacting the Social Security Administration (SSA). You can still get your Medicare card that way, but using the websites allow you to do that any day, anytime from anywhere.

If you decide to contact SSA, you can either call (800) 772-1213; go to its website, ssa.gov; call the local office at (877) 319-3079; or visit the local office at 321 Hazeltine Ave., Jamestown. The local office is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Wednesday, the office is open 9 a.m. to noon.

The SSA allows you do many things related to your Social Security benefit. This website also requires you to establish a login and password. Once this account is established you can log in and use this website for many things, including ordering a new Medicare Card.

The Login ID and password for both these websites are something you are going to want to remember, or put somewhere you can find it when you don’t remember. Once you have ordered/requested this new Medicare card online, it takes about two weeks to receive it. The Medicare card also can laminated.

If you don’t have access to a laminating machine, or don’t want to pay for that, my suggestion is to cover your Medicare card with clear packing tape. It is used seal boxes.

Don’t worry about the paper card and keeping it perfect. If you ever lose it or it gets torn or damaged, you can order a new one.

The new, smaller Medicare card needs to be in your wallet, and will easily fit there. Keep your card in your wallet. You never know when you may get sick or need medical attention. Put your Medicare card in a place in your wallet where the card can’t be seen over your shoulder or in a check-out line in a store.

This is an important insurance card and your providers need to be able to read and use the information on it. Once you get the new card, protect it and keep it with you, so you have it when you need it.

To contact Janell Sluga, GCMC with questions or concerns, please call 720-9797 or e-mail her at janells@lutheran-jamestown.org.