AARP warns Medicare open enrollment creates prime opportunity for scams aimed at older adults

Medicare open enrollment runs through the early-December deadline.

As November begins, the Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging says the cutoff may feel distant, but it is still wise to start preparing now.

“Every year, plans change,” Miranda Pearson, a program supervisor with the agency, said. “They change cost, copays, co-insurance. Everyone should have gotten a letter from their current insurance letting them know what their changes will be for the coming year.”

Some Medicare coverage is also changing going into the next plan year. Those changes can be found here.

“I would say the majority of the time, you have to look and sit down and figure out, ‘What are my drugs gonna cost next year and how do I make that change? How do I use Medicare.gov to review some of those things?’” Pearson said when asked what people should focus on during open enrollment. “Even then, you might still have questions about what does this cover? What does that not cover? Is my x-ray included in that cost?” She added, “It could be pretty in-depth.”

Michigan AARP says that kind of detailed process, along with the need to choose the right coverage, makes people in open enrollment especially attractive targets for scammers.

“We hear about it every year during open enrollment,” Jennifer Feuerstein-DaVita, senior associate state director for Michigan AARP, said. “People are focused on reviewing their plans, they’re looking at coverage, and because of the fact that they’re very much focused on their Medicare planning right now.”

That intense focus can affect a person’s ability to think critically, according to Feuerstein-DaVita.

“When a call comes in that they see is from Medicare, they aren’t even thinking twice about it because they’re already engrossed in this whole process. And so that doesn’t raise a red flag,” she explained.

But she said people should still stay alert.

“You will never get an unsolicited phone call from Medicare,” Feuerstein-DaVita said. “They will never call you out of the blue.”

A scammer on the other end of the line may ask for a Medicare number, which Feuerstein-DaVita said is just as important as a Social Security number.

“Once a fraudster has a person’s Medicare number, they can start billing Medicare fraudulently. They can bill for tests that were never performed, equipment that was never received,” she said. “Not only is this fraud and abuse to Medicare, but it actually can hurt the patient as well.”

“Let’s say, for example, the scammer uses a stolen Medicare number to bill Medicare for wheelchairs or supplies or testing,” she continued. “That has a lifetime benefit. If that beneficiary down the road needs to access those lifetime benefits and they’ve already been used and squandered by fraud, the benefit is no longer available. That stolen information may not affect them today, but it can definitely affect them down the road.”

If you receive a call or text that seems suspicious or asks for personal information, Feuerstein-DaVita says to hang up.

“What we found is that these scammers know that older adults could be going through a lot,” said Don Saldia, division manager with the Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging. “Information out there shows that some of the individuals who are more affected by these types of scams have a lot of medical bills already, or they don’t have a whole lot of supports. These scammers really know that they can prey on that vulnerability to unfortunately get what they want.”

Another helpful step, Saldia said, is seeking support.

“What we’re even finding is older adults who are connected with local resources, like an area agency on aging, or a community center, or even a neighborhood association, they have more of that support,” he explained. “They’re more willing to go out, talk about it, and even get some information and education about what those scams look like.”

News Channel 3 asked Michigan AARP and the Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging which scams they are tracking. They include:

1. An unsolicited call that asks you for your Medicare number
2. An unsolicited call about your current insurance coverage
3. Callers who say they need your information in order to send you a chip card for Medicare (Michigan AARP says your Medicare card does not need a chip and will remain in its current paper version)
4. A call telling you that you now qualify for medical devices you do not currently need
5. A text or call saying your coverage is being canceled and/or that you must pay an outstanding balance right away

“They’re good with using fear, and telling you, ‘You need to do this now, and you’re going to lose your benefits if you don’t do this quickly,’” Pearson said.

“People have this fear that they’re going to lose their Medicare coverage,” Feuerstein-DaVita said. “You have this sense of urgency and, ‘Oh my gosh, something bad is going to happen if I don’t respond right now.’”

That fear is another tactic scammers use when they pretend to be someone from Medicare who is calling to help with the process.

“You get this like relief like, ‘Oh, Medicare is coming to the rescue to help me,’” Feuerstein-DaVita said. “That’s a very common way how people can be victimized.”

If you get a call you are unsure about, the Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging says local agencies can help verify it.

“I just tell folks give us call. Nothing’s too small to call us about and we can verify,” Pearson said.

The following are trusted resources to help with the open enrollment process:

Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging:

• Medicare Counseling Phoneline: (269) 373-5158
• [email protected]
• 311 E. Alcott St., Kalamazoo, MI