A new and more secure Health Identification card will soon be given to enrolled veterans.
A spokesperson for the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain says the new card helps protect a veterans' identity. Brad Nelson says the older cards had information on them that could be stolen...
"....if you had a smart phone and were able to scan the veteran's ID card, it could, unfortunately, give personal information. This has been coming out, so we're transitioning to the new card here...."
Nelson details how the new card is different...
"...the new card is an enhanced one from the old card and actually features a couple of things like the veterans new, unique member ID number and a plan ID that reflects the veterans enrollment status in our VA healthcare system. It also is more secure as it doesn't have any personally identifiable information...."
The new card will be personalized with the veterans branch of service. The new cards were issued in February for veterans not previously in the system. For veterans in the system, the new cards will be issued beginning in April. Nelson thinks it will take until the end of June before all the new cards are issued.
Nelson says keep the old card until the new one is sent to you, then cut up or shred the old card.
More information is available at the VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain.
