The new options are free, meet federal Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) standards defined by NIST, and aim to better protect Medicare information from identity theft and unauthorized access. CMS emphasized that facial recognition used by some providers is a one-time identity check requiring permission, not for surveillance or tracking. Beneficiaries without smartphones or existing Medicare.gov accounts can still access general information through phone support, public computers, or in-person verification. The integration follows contract activity CMS began in late 2025, with ID.me securing a contract to provide identity verification and sign-in services. CLEAR also won a CMS deal to provide biometric verification through its Clear1 platform, described as a high-assurance digital identity layer for healthcare.