Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas has introduced legislation (HR 6600) that would remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards.

“Forty-four million Americans carry in their wallet or purse something that makes them needlessly more vulnerable to identity theft — it’s their Medicare card,” Doggett said in a release. “Seniors have spent a lifetime building their financial security. Their savings and credit should not be put at risk if someone steals their Medicare card.”

Under the measure, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would be required to make sure Social Security numbers are not displayed, coded or embedded on the Medicare card. Apart from the Social Security card itself, the Medicare card is the most frequently issued government document containing a person’s Social Security number, the release said.

The legislation comes after a May 2008 report from the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General that urged the removal of Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards, according to the release.

• IR Report