TRICARE identification card changes

The Department of Defense (DoD) has created a Social Security Number (SSN) Reduction Plan for their cardholders to help prevent identity theft. SSNs will be removed from DoD identification (ID) cards in the following three phases:

• Phase One: Remove dependent SSNs; sponsor SSNs remain visible
• Phase Two (started at the end of 2009): Remove printed SSNs from all ID cards; Geneva Convention ID cards retain the last four digits of the SSN
• Phase Three (scheduled to begin in 2012): Remove SSNs embedded in ID barcodes

According to DoD instruction and reinforced in the TRICARE Provider Handbook (PDF), it is allowable and advisable for you to copy a beneficiary's ID card for eligibility verification and for the purpose of rendering services. The DoD recommends that both sides of the card be copied and retained.

Although SSNs have been removed from DoD ID cards, you should continue to use the sponsor's SSN (or former unremarried spouse's SSN when applicable) for TRICARE claims submission and eligibility verification. To verify eligibility, you must search by sponsor SSN; however, having the sponsor's SSN is not necessary to submit claims or referral/authorizations online. Learn more about the SSN Reduction Plan.

 

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