Laminating Medicare Cards

Honolulu Star Advertiser reporter June Watanabe did an outstanding job with her Kōkua Line column. She published answers to readers’ questions after she does her usual comprehensive research.

In a 2013 column, a reader asked about laminating HMSA, Medicare and Social Security Cards. The answers are interesting, but more important, the article provided links to Medicare and Social Security websites where you can request replacement cards.

Question: Is it OK to laminate your Medicare and HMSA cards? These cards are required when we register at the Medical Group and for lab tests. The Medicare card is also used to verify Social Security numbers.

Answer: HMSA says it’s OK to laminate your card.

However, both the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advise against laminating Social Security and Medicare cards, although it is not illegal and doing so will not invalidate the cards.

“While it isn’t recommended, there is no penalty for doing so,” said Sharon Y. Yee, of Medicare’s Region IX office.

She provided a link to a Social Security Administration bulletin —is.gd/fFOLp7 — that says lost or damaged Medicare cards “are easily replaced online at no charge.”

(Go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov, click on “Numbers & Cards,” then on “Replacement Medicare card.” A replacement card will be mailed in about 30 days.)

Meanwhile, Jane Yamamoto-Burigsay, Social Security spokeswoman in Hawaii, said the administration “DOES NOT want people to laminate the Social Security cards.”

She pointed to the Social Security website is.gd/kWelcX. It says, “Laminated cards make it difficult, if not impossible, to detect important security features and an employer may refuse to accept it.”

It goes on to say, “The Social Security Act requires the Commissioner of Social Security to issue cards that cannot be counterfeited. We incorporate many features that protect the card’s integrity. That includes highly specialized paper and printing techniques — some visible to the naked eye and some not. Further, we continue to actively explore and adopt new technologies that hamper duplication.”

The administration also advises keeping Social Security cards in a safe place: “Do not carry it with you.”