Medicare Impersonation Scams: Your Medicare number is valuable. Protect it

Scammers spend their days pretending to be someone they aren’t, like government agents or medical staff, to con us out of information and money. If you or someone you know has Medicare, here’s advice to help protect your time, money, and information from Medicare imposters.

Don’t Share Your Medicare Number

Your Medicare number is valuable. Don’t share it over the phone with anyone for any reason — and scammers have a lot of fake “reasons.” Scammers ask for Medicare numbers to “verify your identity” or to offer you “new plastic cards.” But Medicare won’t call you to verify your card, and Medicare cards are paper, not plastic, and they’re free. Other scammers claim they’ll send a Medicare-approved back or knee brace if you give them your number. But those are scams, too. If your doctor wants you to have equipment, they’ll talk with you about it at an appointment, not have someone call unexpectedly to offer it to you. Report these kinds of scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Check Your Monthly Medicare Statement

Do the details about your recent visits, services, and products match your records and receipts? If not, or your statement shows double charges, charges for something you didn’t get, or charges for things your doctor didn’t order — like back or knee braces — call your doctor or health plan. If you suspect healthcare fraud or abuse, contact your state Senior Medicare Patrol.

Why is This Important?

Medicare loses an estimated $60 billion each year due to fraud, errors, and abuse, though that number is impossible to measure. Every day, issues related to these problems affect people across the country, often costing them time, money, and well-being.

Medicare-related errors contribute to this annual loss even though errors can be honest healthcare billing mistakes. However, repeated errors by a doctor or provider could be considered a red flag of potential fraud or abuse if not corrected.

When people steal from Medicare, it hurts us all and is big business for criminals. Some common examples of fraud, errors, or abuse could include:

• Charging for services or supplies that were not provided
• Misrepresenting a diagnosis, a person’s identity, the service provided, or other facts to justify payment
• Prescribing or providing excessive or unnecessary tests and services

Falling prey to consumer scams or healthcare fraud may mean that your Medicare number has been “compromised” as a result of medical identity theft. Stealing from Medicare leaves less available funds for those needing services now as well as those needing Medicare in the future.

Protect Yourself from Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft is a serious crime that happens when someone uses your personal information without your consent to commit Medicare fraud or other crimes. Use the following tips to protect yourself from becoming a victim.

Do:

• Protect your Medicare Number and your Social Security Number.
• Guard your Medicare card like it’s a credit card.
• Become familiar with how Medicare uses your personal information. If you join a Medicare health or drug plan, the plan will let you know how it will use your personal information.
• Check the receipts and statements you get from providers for mistakes, and call your provider’s office if you think a charge is incorrect. The person you speak to may be able to help you understand the services or supplies you got, or they may realize a billing error was made.
• Remember that Medicare will never call you to sell you anything or visit you at your home. Medicare, or someone representing Medicare, will only call and ask for personal information in limited situations:
  • A Medicare health or drug plan may call you if you’re already a member of the plan. The agent who helped you join can also call you.
  • A customer service representative from 1-800-MEDICARE can call you if you’ve called and left a message or a representative said that someone would call you back.
  • If you filed a report of suspected fraud, you may get a call from someone representing Medicare to follow up on your investigation.

Don’t:

• Don’t Give your Medicare card, Medicare Number, Social Security card, or Social Security Number to anyone except your doctor or people you know should have it (like insurers acting on your behalf or people who work with Medicare, like your
  State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
  . Get the contact information for your local SHIP.
  • What do I do if my card is lost, stolen, or damaged?
• Don’t Accept offers of money or gifts for free medical care.
• Don’t Allow anyone, except your doctor or other Medicare providers, to review your medical records or recommend services.
• Don’t Join a Medicare health or drug plan over the phone unless you call us.

Report Fraud

Report medical identity theft. If you think someone used your information to get medical care, get copies of your medical records from each doctor, hospital, pharmacy, and other place the thief might have used your information. Review the records and tell your provider about any errors. Report the theft at IdentityTheft.gov and create a plan to recover from problems the identity theft may have caused.

Learn more

Visit the Senior Medicare Patrol!

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