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Medicare Scams

There are several reasons why Medicare is rife with people trying to scam beneficiaries and businesses alike. For one, the rise of automated and exclusively-online enrollment means that it can be easier to use technology to scam the unsuspecting. Additionally, the population who uses Medicare is mostly elderly, and the elderly are often targets of scams. Medicare also covers an enormous population of people – 65 million at last count in 2023.   Additionally,  more people become eligible and enroll each year. The federal Medicare program continues to warn beneficiaries to watch out for scammers.  Warning particularly people who try to take Medicare ID numbers in order to file false claims. The purpose of Medicare scams is to obtain Medicare payments, which is usually done by filing false claims for services, items, procedures, or equipment. It is estimated that Medicare fraud costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year.

Here are the top three Medicare scams to watch out for right now.

1. Offers of free genetic testing

With how popular DNA testing has become, it’s no wonder scammers have been using that buzz to commit fraud. The “free genetic testing” is offered under the guise of helping test for diseases or susceptibility to certain illnesses, and find the right medications. The offers most often come over the phone but there are some reported door-to-door attempts as well.

2. Calls or emails about free medical equipment

Scammers are also disguising themselves for other scams. Some people attempting to commit fraud are pretending to be Medicare representatives and making unsolicited calls to people under the guise of offering them free medical devices such as back braces, canes, walkers, or even wheelchairs. These callers have been reported to be extremely persistent, even asking the beneficiaries to accept the equipment simply because it is free if they do not need it. When the beneficiaries agree, the scammers then ask for their Medicare ID number, which gives them access to their private medical information and records.

3. Solicitations for other services

These attempts at fraud are sometimes called Medicare Call Scams. Often they are robocalls, but there are live people making these calls as well. Their goal is to get the Medicare ID number, social security number, or other personal information about their targets. The scammers often do this by doing their research, knowing some things about their target, and pretending to be Medicare representatives.

In order to protect themselves against these three common scams, Medicare beneficiaries should always remember that Medicare will not reach out to beneficiaries via call or email unless they are answering their inquiry. Medicare will also never offer free gifts, medical equipment, or any other service for free. Calls requesting health care information should, as a rule, not be trusted.

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Medicare Card Scams

You may have gotten a phone call recently from someone claiming to be the IRS, or you may have gotten an email asking for your banking information to avoid a threat to your computer. Unfortunately, avoiding scams has become part of our daily lives in the past decade. The Medicare insurance industry is no exception. Many criminal endeavors tend to target older citizens, who may be less familiar with the technology that these Medicare card scams utilize.

With that in mind, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent every Medicare beneficiary a new Medicare card designed to better protect against identity theft. These new cards were sent out from April 2018 to January 2019 and had a different format. Where the previous version had shown the beneficiary’s social security number, they now feature the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). The MBI is an individual, random assortment of letters and numbers that is unique to each beneficiary. During the rollout of these new cards, scammers used the new protocol to their advantage and made calls impersonating Medicare employees. Then, once the new cards were all sent out, they changed tactics and called beneficiaries telling them they had to upgrade or replace their IDs. With both of these scams, and most technology based scams in general, the objective is to obtain personal information from the targets and use their identity.

Medicare Card Scams Warning Signs

There are some basic precautions to take to try to avoid Medicare scams. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• You will never receive a call from Medicare employees unless they are returning a call from you or you have otherwise invited them to do so.

• You will never have to pay a fee to upgrade or change your Medicare ID card.

• If someone threatens to cancel Medicare coverage over the phone if you do not verify personal information, it is a scam.

• A hospital bill or bill from a service you did not receive is also a sign of a scam.

How to Protect Yourself from Medicare Card Scams

• If you receive a call from someone claiming to work for Medicare asking for personal information, hang up immediately.

• Destroy your old Medicare card – shredding it, for example.

• Only give your Medicare card to professional, trusted healthcare providers such as hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, and insurers.

• Do not share your Medicare information with anyone else, or your personal information with anyone you do not know.

• Remember that scammers may know some personal information about you if you are targeted. This does not mean they actually work for Medicare.

Scams may be a part of our lives, but that doesn’t mean we have to be willing victims. With these protective measures in mind, beneficiaries can be safer from scams than before. If anyone encounters a potential Medicare Card scam, they can report it to Medicare at 800-633-4227.

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New Medicare Card Scams

Unfortunately, there have been reports of some New Medicare Card Scams.

Be aware that  Medicare is in the process of sending out the new Medicare cards.

 Therefore, if you receive a call and someone says you need to give them your personal information or payment of any sort to get the new card, hang up! It’s a scam. Medicare will never call uninvited and ask for personal information or money the cards are free and Medciare already has all the information they need to get the card to you.  Click this link to check the status of your new card.

If you have not received your new Medicare card yet, don’t worry. Sending cards out to each state takes some time.  You and your friends will probably get your cards at different times.  If you do not have your new card yet, you can keep using your current Medicare card.

Additionally, you are able to log in to your MyMedicare.gov account to see when your new card was mailed. To sign up for a free Medicare account you can go to Medicare.gov  and in a short amount of time you can create an account.

IMPORTANT: If you have received your new card, start using it right away!

YOUR NEW CARD WILL LOOK LIKE THIS:

PLEASE REMEMBER:

1. Your new card will automatically be mailed to you. There is nothing for you to do.  Just wait for the card to arrive, as long as your address is up to date. If you need to update your address, visit your My Social Security account.
2. Once you get your new Medicare card, you should destroy your old Medicare card and start using your new card.
3. Medicare uses a unique combination of numbers and letters on the new cards. They use numbers 0 thru 9.  They do not use the letters S, L, O, I, B, or Z on the cards.

Call Crowe and Associates with any questions at 203-796-5403