[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6600 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6600

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to prohibit the inclusion 
         of Social Security account numbers on Medicare cards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2008

  Mr. Doggett (for himself, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Hodes, Mr. 
 Herger, Mr. Camp of Michigan, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Weller 
of Illinois, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Linder, Mr. 
  Stark, Mr. Levin, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Neal of 
  Massachusetts, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Becerra, Mr. Pomeroy, Mrs. Jones of 
   Ohio, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. 
  Emanuel, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Kind, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. 
 Berkley, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. Davis of Alabama, Mr. 
 Waxman, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Farr, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. 
 Al Green of Texas, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, 
     Mr. Edwards of Texas, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Ortiz, and Mr. Reyes) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to prohibit the inclusion 
         of Social Security account numbers on Medicare cards.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Identity Theft Prevention 
Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF INCLUSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON 
              MEDICARE CARDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new clause:
    ``(x) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation 
with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall establish cost-
effective procedures to ensure that a Social Security account number 
(or any derivative thereof) is not displayed, coded, or embedded on the 
Medicare card issued to an individual who is entitled to benefits under 
part A of title XVIII or enrolled under part B of title XVIII and that 
any other identifier displayed on such card is easily identifiable as 
not being the Social Security account number (or a derivative 
thereof).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
        apply with respect to Medicare cards issued on and after an 
        effective date specified by the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, but in no case shall such effective date be later 
        than the date that is 30 months after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act.
            (2) Reissuance.--In the case of individuals who have been 
        issued such cards before such date, the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services--
                    (A) shall provide for the reissuance for such 
                individuals of such a card that complies with such 
                amendment not later than 3 years after the effective 
                date under paragraph (1); and
                    (B) may permit such individuals to apply for the 
                reissuance of such a card that complies with such 
                amendment before the date of reissuance otherwise 
                provided under subparagraph (A) in such exceptional 
                circumstances as the Secretary may specify.
    (c) Outreach Program.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall conduct 
an outreach program to Medicare beneficiaries and providers about the 
new Medicare card provided under this section.
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