Question: We just got our new Medicare cards and wondered if we could laminate them. Our old ones got so damaged from putting them in and out of our wallets; they were a little bigger than normal, so they didn’t fit right in our wallets. Laminating the card would keep it clean and flat. I just wanted to be sure that it was OK to do that.
Answer: Yes. Unlike Social Security cards, which the Social Security Administration says should not be laminated, it’s OK to laminate your new Medicare card, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Jack Cheevers said the new Medicare cards are made of paper so that they can be scanned or copied more easily by doctors and other health care providers. Paper cards also save the government money.
“You may laminate your new Medicare card. However, lamination can make your name or number difficult for providers and others to read or photocopy. If poor lamination has made your card difficult to read, you can print another copy of your new Medicare card using your MyMedicare.gov account, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227); TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048,” Cheevers, who is based in San Francisco, said in an email to Kokua Line.
If you are new to Medicare and don’t have an online account, you can create one at MyMedicare.gov.
Googling this subject, we noticed many websites and bloggers mistakenly assumed that the Social Security Administration’s instructions applied to Medicare cards as well.
As for Social Security cards, it is not illegal to laminate them, but doing so prevents detection of security features in the card, said Jane Burigsay, a Honolulu- based spokeswoman for the federal agency. That’s why SSA advises against lamination and instead tells people who want to cover the card for safekeeping to use a plastic sleeve or other removable ID holder. If you damage your Social Security card and live in Hawaii, you’ll have to seek a replacement in person or by regular mail.
Q: With all the disasters and hearing about people who didn’t have the right insurance, we wanted to review our own situation. I recall you printing something about price comparisons, but now I can’t find it. Could you repeat?
A: You’re likely referring to annual consumer guides published by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Insurance Division. Find links to premium comparison charts for homeowners, condominium and renters insurance at cca.hawaii.gov/ins/resources. Be sure to click on the 2018 publication for each PDF.
The division also published the booklet “My Insurance Doesn’t Cover What?” to help people assess how well protected they are against natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and volcanic activity. Find it at 808ne.ws/insguide.
If you prefer, you can pick up a copy in person at the Insurance Division’s office in Honolulu, at 335 Merchant St., Room 213, or call the office at 586-2790.
Mahalo
I called in a balloon stuck in a power line by my house. Hawaiian Electric Co. called me back to confirm the address and removed the balloon the same day. — A satisfied customer
Mahalo
While in line at Costco Waipio food court last week, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the lady whom I had let move up in front of me paid for my acai bowl. I think she was grateful that I had let her move up in line, and then after learning more about her, offered to pray for her husband, who was quite ill. I was really touched by her kind gesture and want to thank her for her generosity. I’d like her to know I was very thankful and will pay it forward. — L.S.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
