It’s Medicare open enrollment season, which means it’s also Medicare scam season. Eligible beneficiaries have until December 7 to shop for the best deals for their health care dollar. Unfortunately, some of the offers won’t be deals at all. Here’s how to avoid the scams this open enrollment season. How It Works • The Medicare Open Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7. During this time, Medicare recipients can explore other health plans. • Because plans change from year to year, beneficiaries can save money by exploring different coverage options. • However, Medicare scams spike during open enrollment season, with bogus offers from real or impersonated insurance providers pitching free gifts or limited time offers. • Scammers also call Medicare beneficiaries claiming to be from Medicare, asking them to verify their information to issue a “new” card. What You Should Know • These scams are designed to capture personal information that can be used to bill Medicare fraudulently. • Criminals use free offers to entice people. From cheap giveaways to promises of free medical supplies, these tactics seek to harvest Medicare information or even a credit card number for alleged shipping charges, for instance. Unscrupulous salespeople may also try to pressure you to buy often worthless supplemental insurance products that will supposedly save thousands. Know that Medicare will never call you out of the blue. Criminals use “spoofing” technology to make it look like their incoming calls are coming from Medicare, so your caller ID is not trustworthy. Medicare is not sending out new cards; anyone suggesting otherwise is lying to you. What You Should Do Beneficiaries can compare plans safely and change their enrollment by going to www.medicare.gov or by calling 800-633-4227. Also, every state has a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) with counselors who can help answer your questions. • Be suspicious of unsolicited offers, offers that are exceedingly generous and offers for free products in exchange for your personal information. |
Carrabassett Valley Network
connecting the valley…
