Medicare Open ‘Season’ Enrollment
It’s that time of year again when Medicare holds its Open Enrollment.
From October 15-December 7, Medicare beneficiaries can make changes to their Medicare health and drug plans for next year.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), things like cost, coverage, and what providers and pharmacies are in your networks can be changed to better meet your needs. CMS advises reviewing your plan materials, like the “Evidence of Coverage” (EOC) and “Annual Notice of Change” (ANOC). If your plans are changing, you should make sure these plans will still meet your needs for 2023. If you’re satisfied with your current plans and they’re still being offered, you don’t need to do anything. However, if changes need to be made, there is help available at no cost.
Unfortunately, the Better Business Bureau has gotten many reports about scammers claiming to be government representatives who can help you navigate your Medicare options. Scammers claim to be a “health care benefits advocate” or a similar title.
They allege they can enroll you in a better program than what you currently have. This “new plan” is cheaper, and you can keep all the same services. To get started, all you need to do is provide some personal information, such as your Medicare ID number. Of course, the call is a scam, and sharing personal information will open you up to identity theft.
In yet another common scam, callers try to frighten — rather than assist — you with your health care plans. In one common scenario, scammers claim your Medicare will be discontinued if you
didn’t re-enroll. Fortunately, this “Medicare advisor” can fix the situation — IF you share personal information with them.
Tips to avoid open enrollment scams
Selecting a health insurance plan can be challenging and complex.
Be on the lookout for common red flags.
• Be wary of anyone who contacts you unsolicited. Medicare will help with which plan is right for you at: 1-800-MEDICARE or Medicare.gov. These people are NOT allowed to charge for their help, so if someone asks you for payment, it’s a scam. You will also need to contact them; they will NOT call you out-of-the-blue.
• Be wary of free gifts and “health screenings.” Keep a healthy level of skepticism any time a broker offers you free gifts or other special deals. Never sign up with a broker who offers you an expensive sign-up gift in exchange for providing your Medicare ID number or other personally identifiable information.
Other times, brokers offer free “health screenings” to weed out people who are less healthy.
This is called “cherry picking” and is against the Medicare rules.
• Guard your government-issued numbers. Never offer your Medicare ID number, Social Security number, health plan info, or banking information to anyone you don’t know.
• Go directly to the official website. If you want to make changes to your health care plan, go directly to Medicare.gov.
Don’t click on links in suspicious messages even if they look like they’ve come from Medicare.
Take action
If you are unsure whether a call or offer is from Medicare, or you gave your personal information to someone claiming to be with Medicare, call the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol: 1-888-341-6187 to report it.