Fighting Fraud
By Better Business Bureau Serving Greater Cleveland
The arrival of fall signals open enrollment for Medicare, Medicaid and other marketplace healthcare plans offered under the Affordable Care Act. Private employers also generally offer open enrollment to their staff during this time. While Better Business Bureau® Serving Greater Cleveland (BBB®) usually sees scams preying upon seniors and those on Medicare, private insurance holders are also at risk.
Unscrupulous individuals marketing themselves as healthcare plan providers will often take advantage of the confusion surrounding government and private plans. Each year, BBB Scam TrackerSM sees reports about consumers receiving phone calls from individuals claiming to be “healthcare benefits advocates” working with healthcare providers or insurance providers. Scammers often use enticing claims of offering a better, cheaper program or threats of discontinued services. Once consumers provide their personal information, it opens them up to identity theft and future fraud.
For example, a senior from the Old Brooklyn area recently reported to BBB about a scam phone call he received. “I received a call on my home phone on Saturday, September 16th. The caller’s name was Mary. She said she was working for the Medicare Department…and they wanted to send me a new Medicare card since the old one expired. I told her I don’t think so. The Medicare card does not have an expiration date. She insisted I give my Medicare number. I said it does not expire and… told her the Federal Government does not work on weekends.” The consumer never provided his Medicare number and disconnected the call. The scammer never called back.
A private insurance holder in the Olmsted Falls area mistakenly called the wrong number for United Healthcare in August. She told BBB, “I think I have just been scammed. I was trying to call United Healthcare…I have vision problems and called the wrong number by accident. When they answered, they said “United Healthcare, How may we help you? We are offering a $100 gift card to all our subscribers.” It was for a Walmart or Dine Out card. They were totally smooth and professional and I should have listened to the hair on the back of my neck. I was uncomfortable. There was a $4.95 charge for shipping and handling and I unfortunately gave my credit card number.”
The consumer was then provided a phone number for future questions and called it after the transaction. She realized she fell for a scam when that phone number was not in service. The consumer then called United Healthcare and explained what happened. A United Healthcare representative confirmed with the consumer that it was a scam and advised her to contact BBB.
Better Business Bureau Serving Greater Cleveland is providing the following tips to help prevent open enrollment scams:
- Be wary of anyone who contacts you unsolicited. People representing Medicare and other healthcare plans won’t contact you by phone, email, or in person unless you are already enrolled. Be especially cautious of threatening calls that require quick action or immediate payment.
- Guard your personal information. Never provide your Medicare ID number, Social Security number, health plan info, credit card numbers, or banking information to anyone you don’t know.
- Utilize official websites. You can enroll or re-enroll in Medicare at Medicare.gov or in a marketplace health plan at Healthcare.gov. If you have private insurance, utilize the websites found on the back of your insurance card.
- Decline promotional gifts in exchange for personal information. Be wary any time an industry professional offers gifts, health screenings, or medical equipment in exchange for providing personally identifiable information (PIP) such as your Medicare ID or Social Security number.
For more tips from BBB on avoiding healthcare scams, check BBB.org/HealthCareScam. Have additional questions? Reach out to your BBB at 216.241.7678 or [email protected]. Have a scam to report? Report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker.
