Where Do You Put Your Medicare Card While Traveling?

As you can probably guess I am now officially old as I became eligible for Medicare on March first. Since the Medicare card includes your social security number where do you keep it while you are traveling?

 

It is interesting that the government does that. I mean, if lose your wallet you will lose enough information for someone else to establish credit in your name! We have a hidden strongbox in our van, so passports and various other things go in there when we don't need them. I suspect most vehicles would have a place where you could hide things to reduce the chances of something that important getting stolen - under a rear bench seat comes to mind, but there are likely at least a few places in any vehicle where a thief is not likely to look, especially if it is necessary to unload some gear in order to gain access.

 

Thank you for the comments. I had thought about buying a strong box as we will be carrying our passports as well. I do wish the government would use another system for our Medicare accounts. I don't ever want to deal with identity theft but particularly when we are traveling.

 

That sounds like something I would do! I hate it when I put something in a "safe" place and then can't find it when I need it.

 

I'm not sure an online discussion is the best place to discuss where any of us store anything valuable....

 

ps Do you actually need your physical Medicare card, or do you only need your Medicare number? I'd guess you would take a photo of the card and store it in an online lockbox, rather than in your car, etc.

I realize that this doesn't work for your passport, however, or anything else that requires that you provide the paper copy.

 

Why You Shouldn't Keep Your Medicare Card in Your Wallet

"Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, recommends that you carry your Medicare card only when you visit a health care provider for the first time, so the provider can make a copy for its file. Otherwise, he recommends making a copy of your card with the last four digits of your Social Security number blacked out and keeping that in your wallet in case of an emergency."

This problem should now be in the rear view mirror, as the Federal government was supposed to issue new Medicare cards with no social security number on them, starting in April 2018. Thanks, Obama. (meant sincerely, not in the ironic way.) Of course, this change for the better might have been eliminated by the current Administration.

 

Your wallet is probably the one place you should NOT keep your social security number. That's the fast lane to losing your identity.