policy Social Security Numbers SSN testimony
Medicare to Remove SSN from ID Cards
Earlier this year, the Center Medicare Services announced that the Social Security Number would be removed from the Medicare benefits card. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill led the effort in the Senate to remove the SSN, which contributed to identity theft and often targeted seniors. EPIC testified before their Senate Committee in 2015 on "Protecting Seniors from Identity Theft: Is the Federal Government Doing Enough?" EPIC explained that "there is no other form of individual identification that plays a more significant role in record-linkage and no other form of personal identification that poses a greater risk to personal privacy." Since its founding, EPIC has sought to limit the use of the Social Security Number on identification documents.