What You Should Know about Medicare Scams

Every year, from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, Medicare beneficiaries have a chance to change plans for the upcoming year. It’s the time for seniors 65 and over and younger people with disabilities already receiving Medicare benefits through the federal health insurance program to shop around and compare coverage options.

But Medicare “open enrollment” is also open season for scammers.

TINA.org has seen and reported on a number of Medicare scams. With open enrollment right around the corner, here are a few things Medicare recipients need to know to help prevent becoming a victim.

• No one from Medicare will call you asking for your Medicare, Social Security, or bank or credit card information. Actual Medicare employees already have that information on file. Hang up the phone.
• Similarly, if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from Medicare offering a “free” or “low cost” back or knee brace (or some other type of medical equipment), this is just an attempt to get your Medicare information so that the scammer on the other end of the line can fraudulently bill Medicare. Put the phone down till it goes click.
• If you don’t recognize the number and the caller starts talking about Medicare, it’s probably a scam. Even calls that look like they’re coming from Medicare can be scammers. Instead of taking a gamble, initiate your own call to Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE.
• Scammers posing as the government also use the mail to target Medicare recipients. These official-looking mailings may urge consumers to call a special hotline to find out about coverage they may not know is available or warn that many recipients are failing to claim new benefits.
• There’s no advantage to signing up early so don’t be rushed into making any decision regarding your Medicare coverage.

Consumers can report Medicare scams by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. They can also tell the FTC and, of course, TINA.org.

Find more of our coverage on Medicare here.