[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1509 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1509

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

                             April 13, 2011

 Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas (for himself and Mr. Doggett) 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 2011''.

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:
    ``(xi) 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 24 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 effective 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 such effective 
                date; 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.
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