{"id":2877,"date":"2016-04-29T11:28:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T11:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viamedic.com\/blog\/?p=2877"},"modified":"2016-04-29T11:28:30","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T11:28:30","slug":"how-to-avoid-these-5-medicare-open-enrollment-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/how-to-avoid-these-5-medicare-open-enrollment-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid These 5 Medicare Open Enrollment Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Medicare
With all the confusing options, Medicare open enrollment is a ideal opportunity for scams.<\/figcaption><\/figure> It’ll soon be that time of year when a myriad of confusing Medicare plan options are offered up to those who qualify for a period of open enrollment. But experts say, if you are a beneficiary, you need to use caution as you make your choices.<\/p>\n

The open enrollment, which begins in October, is the perfect opportunity for Medicare scams to target new victims, mainly because the information people are dealing with is hard to understand, so scammers can leverage this to their advantage.<\/p>\n

<\/i>There are 54 million Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. who are given the opportunity to swap Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans during the annual open enrollment period. But to do so, they must navigate through a mind-numbing array of plan options that according to a report in U.S. News- Health, has opened the door to numerous scams.<\/p>\n

The report quotes Micki Nozaki of the California Senior Medicare Patrol, which is part of a nationwide network of outreach and education programs that work to prevent and report health care fraud:<\/p>\n

“Everyone is being inundated with TV commercials, brochures and other official-looking documents in the mail about all the Medicare Advantage plans. It’s so confusing and in an environment like that, fraud is rampant,” Nozaki says.<\/p>\n

What are the Con Artists After?<\/b><\/p>\n

Simply put, and probably not a surprise, these scams are after your identity and your money. Typically, these scams will come to you through a telemarketer, mailings, or emails offering bogus health insurance or medical equipment that will require you to share your Medicare number or your bank account information.<\/p>\n

Recently, for example, the Federal Trade Commission discovered and shut down an alleged telemarketing scam that targeted older adults who were being called to verify their bank account numbers in order to receive their new Medicare card. Within a few weeks of responding to the phone call, the victims’ bank accounts were drained of hundreds of dollars and of course, there was no new card on its way.<\/p>\n

Tips to Avoid Medicare Scams<\/b><\/p>\n

So how do you protect yourself as you navigate through the open enrollment process? Experts have a few tips to follow that should help you avoid falling victim:<\/p>\n