112th Precinct Community Council

BEWARE THE MEDICAID SCAMS

Jan 20, 2006

BEWARE THE MEDICAID SCAMS
By Heidi Harrison Chain

As we approach the time for making the Form D choices, there are people who are using this as an opportunity to scam. So you must be careful! Unfortunately, there are now fraudulent solicitations targeting the elderly.

If you receive a phone call offering to sign you up on the phone for a Medicaid company?— Take the caller?’s information and ask the caller to send you their information.

IF YOU ARE CALLED ?– DO NOT GIVE ANYONE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, NOR YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON THE PHONE!

No one should ask you for a fee to make a choice. There is no charge to enroll in a medicare part D prescription drug coverage. AARP has issued a scam warning : With the enrollment period for Medicare's new Part D prescription drug coverage coming up in November, con artists, sometimes purporting to be from insurance companies, are trying to take advantage of potential enrollees and cash in. They try to steal Social Security numbers, credit card information and bank account numbers. Some offer to help people enroll for a fee?—even though there's no charge to sign up.

The Better Business Bureau has issued warnings and has advice for people regarding these scams.
The Better Business Bureaus indicates that people are calling seniors, masquerading as "approved" providers or government officials, and offering to sign them up over the telephone. Their goal is to wrest personal and financial information from seniors that they can use to steal their identities or money.
Seniors and those who care for seniors need to know how to identify the legitimate approved Medicare Prescription Drug providers from the "pretenders." The BBB offers the following tips when evaluating the various plans being marketed:
?· Carefully review the "Medicare & You" 2006 handbook that has been provided to every senior citizen. The booklet explains in detail what prescription drug coverage means to you and which plans are available in your area.
?· Legitimate providers are permitted to contact consumers, but they must observe federal and state do-not-call laws and registries. Also, they should be willing to send you information about the plan in the mail, and to wait to obtain any necessary personal and financial information until after you decide to enroll.
?· If someone calls you out of the blue to offer a Medicare prescription drug plan and asks for personal and financial information, obtain their name, the name of their company or agency, and their phone number. Ask them to send you information about their plan in the mail. Do not provide your bank account number, your Social Security number or any other personal information over the telephone.
?· Verify the legitimacy of any provider that contacts you by calling the Medicare toll-free phone number, (800) MEDICARE (800-633-4227), which is open 24 hours a day.