It’s Medicare Fraud Prevention Week

WISCONSIN – (Civic Media) – Fraud costs. It costs Medicare about $60 billion per year. It costs people time, stress, worry, lost work, and even identities. So the week of June 3rd through the 9th is Medicare Fraud Prevention Week.

 We want people to know that the Senior Medicare Patrol program is available to them. So this is kind of an awareness campaign for us,” Kundinger said. “We want people to know that anyone could be impacted by Medicare fraud. Protect yourself; don’t share personal information over the phone with people who call you out of the blue that you’ve never talked to before.”

Ingrid Kundinger, Wisconsin Senior Medicare Patrol Project Manager

Kundinger says Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is available to help teach people how to avoid fraud and how to alert Medicare to a fraudulent situation. One of the most important things a Medicare beneficiary can do to stop fraud is to check their Medicare statements.

“For the average person who is on Medicare, it’s really important for them to keep an eye on their Medicare statements and review them each time they receive them. Make sure there aren’t any suspicious claims that snuck in with their Medicare information. The fraudsters hope that people don’t look at their statements,” said Kundinger. “And we also encourage people to be really, really cautious in protecting their personal information, including their Medicare information. Just to be really careful and not to share personal information over the phone.”

Fraudsters target elderly people.

“Unfortunately, older people are more targeted for all sorts of different kinds of fraud, not necessarily just specifically Medicare fraud,” Kundinger said.

Be wary of phone calls

Kundinger says one of the most common ways fraudsters contact people is over the phone. She said if you don’t know that number, don’t answer the call. Fraudsters, once they get you on the phone, have a very convincing script designed to ramp up emotions and elicit information.

Our basic advice is that if you are able to see who’s calling, and it’s not a number that you recognize – Simply not answer it at all…If you don’t interact with the fraudster on the phone at all, they’re not going to be able to get any information from you,” said Kundinger. 

Fraudsters start with something that sounds innocent but is designed to gain the trust of the victim.

“And then the fraudster is going to say, well, I’m so glad I called you today. I’m going to help you out with that. I’m just going to need to get a little bit of information from you. I’m going to need to, here’s kind of that buzzword, verify your Medicare information, and I’ll make sure then to get a new card sent out to you right away,” said Kundinger.

“But here’s the thing. There’s not a new Medicare card. And suddenly they have my Medicare information and they’re able to submit claims to Medicare for payment. So what seems to be rather innocent at the beginning of that phone call just checking to see if you got your new medicare card can end up costing Medicare, in some situations, thousands of dollars.”

Everyone can help stop Medicare fraud

Everyone can play a part in helping to stop Medicare fraud, according to the SMP.

• Medicare beneficiaries can monitor their insurance statements to make sure products and services received match what is on the statements. They can request free My Health Care Trackers from their local SMP.
• Caregivers can help by being on the lookout for items such as durable medical equipment (like boxes of knee braces) lying around the house that may have been shipped to the beneficiary without their or their doctor’s approval. They can remind their client or loved one to never give out their Medicare number or other personal information over the phone.
• Families can help by talking to their loved ones about protecting their Medicare number just as they would a credit card number. They can help their loved ones create a Medicare.gov account to access their Medicare statements online or remind them to open and review them when they come in the mail. They can also register their phone number on “do not call” lists and go to optoutprescreen.com to opt out of mailings.
• Partners and professionals can help by sharing SMP information on social media, referring clients and consumers to the SMP, and inviting the SMP to speak during a shared event.
• Healthcare providers can help by talking to patients about health care-related scams such as those related to durable medical equipment and genetic testing schemes. Remind them that products and services should only be ordered by physicians they regularly see. Needed medical items should never be ordered through TV ads or unsolicited calls.
• Community members can help by looking out for older neighbors. When in public, they can be aware of older individuals purchasing gift cards in large amounts. They can encourage those they know to talk to a trusted source about their Medicare questions and tell neighbors about the most recent Medicare scams. They can even consider volunteering with the local SMP.

Senior Medicare Patrol will help

Kundinger says the SMP is available to help Medicare beneficiaries sift through statements. They’ll also help you get new Medicare numbers if you’ve fallen prey to a fraudster. 

“We really want to make sure that your Medicare account and your Medicare information is safe. If you have shared your Medicare information over the phone, or if you have noticed that you’re receiving medical supplies on your doorstep that you didn’t want; you didn’t need; you didn’t order. Or if you’re looking at your statements and seeing suspicious claims on there that don’t make sense to you,” said Kundinger. “We want to hear about that from people so that we can help you get a new Medicare number if your number is compromised.”

And Kundinger said the SMP loves sharing information with different types of groups.

“ If people are part of a book club or a faith-based organization or a civic group or some other group of people and you think that you would want for us to come and talk more specifically to your group about Medicare-related fraud and scams and how the Senior Medicare Patrol Program can be of assistance, we love to be out and about in the communities all across the state sharing information,” said Kundinger.

Visit the SMP website or phone (888) 818-2611. Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources houses the SMP in Wisconsin.

The press release about Medicare Fraud Prevention Week from SMP is below: