Medicare Open-Enrollment is Open Season for Scammers

With the new year ahead of us, comes the season for health insurance open-enrollment, which has led to Medicare insurance scams.

Posing as ‘private companies,’ scammers are targeting eligible seniors and offering illegitimate Medicare plans to gain access to the their financial and personal information. Unfortunately, in return, the victim receives none of the promised Medicare benefits and instead a big hole in their pockets.

This is currently prevalent during Medicare’s open-enrollment period that runs from October 15 through December 7. Since July, Hiya has seen a 150% growth in November.

Most recently, the FTC has been warning those who qualify for Medicare to avoid becoming a scammer’s victim by following the tips below:

• There are no Medicare sales representatives. Anyone who tries to sell you Medicare insurance while claiming to be an “official Medicare agent” is a scammer.
• Ignore anyone who says you must join a prescription drug plan to keep your Medicare coverage. The Medicare prescription drug plan (also known as Part D) is voluntary and has nothing to do with the rest of your Medicare coverage.
• Hang up on anyone who asks for a quick payment, threatens you, or offers you free equipment or services in exchange for your information. Never give information over the phone to someone who says they need it so you can keep your coverage.
• If you need help with Medicare, call 1-800-MEDICARE or go to Medicare.gov

Do your due diligence by protecting yourself or loved ones by passing this information along to those who could be targeted by this season’s growing scam.