Tuesday, October 1 2024

Medicare Part D Solicitations

Unfortunately, not everyone who contacts you about Medicare Part D has the best intentions. Scam artists also follow the headlines, and they are reportedly contacting eligible people claiming to represent a Medicare Part D provider. All they really want is your personal information, like your Social Security number or your checking or credit card account numbers, which they use to try to commit financial fraud.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency that runs the prescription drug program, want you to know how to protect yourself and your personal information as you make important choices about your health care coverage.

What Providers May and May Not Do

To protect consumers, the law is very specific about what Medicare prescription drug plan providers may and may not do. For example:

Telemarketing calls, including voice mail messages;
Emails or texts;
Door-to-door solicitations, including leaflets or flyers at your home or car;
Approaching you in common areas, like parking lots, hallways, lobbies, and sidewalks.
  • Medicare Part D plan representatives may not market through unsolicited contact, including:
  • Medicare Part D plan representatives may enroll you on the phone only if YOU call them. You can be on the safe side by calling Medicare first (toll-free at 1-800-633-4227 — 1-800-MEDICARE) to verify the legitimacy of any provider you may be tempted to call. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. The Medicare phone line runs 24 hours a day. Medicare doesn't recommend any particular prescription drug plan; it simply verifies that a provider is legitimate.
  • Providers may come to your home only if you have invited them to do so.
  • Providers may ask you how you want to pay your premiums, but they may not ask you for payment on the phone or through the internet.
  • You may set up a direct payment plan if you want to, but the provider first has to mail you the information to do so.
  • Legitimate providers will not charge you any fees to enroll in a plan.

Protecting Your Personal Information

It's important to protect your personal information, even when you are shopping for a prescription drug plan. If your personal information — your Social Security, Medicare ID, credit card or bank account numbers — gets into the wrong hands, it can be misused. You could be left dealing with identity theft, which can take time, money, and patience to undo. To protect your personal information, the FTC recommends that you:

  • Keep all your personal information close. Don't give it out until you are sure that a company is working with Medicare and their product is approved by Medicare. Remember that if you decide to join a Medicare prescription drug plan, you will have to give your Medicare number.
  • Don’t talk to anyone who comes to your door with unsolicited "offers" of drug coverage. The law says prescription drug benefit companies cannot visit your home unless you've given them permission to do so.
  • Resist pressure to join a Medicare prescription drug plan. You have from October 15 to December 7 of every year to decide on a plan for the following year. That is plenty of time to consider legitimate offers. Enrolling is not mandatory. Whether you sign up has no effect on your other benefits from Medicare (Parts A and B) or from Social Security.
  • Don’t sign up for a plan on the phone unless YOU make the call.
  • Take a friend or family member with you if you decide to attend a sales pitch.
  • Report scams and suspicious activity to Medicare. If you think someone is misusing your personal information, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477, or the FTC at 1-877-382-4357. TTY users should call the FTC at 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

For More Information

To learn more about Medicare Part D and the plans available in your area, call 1-800-MEDICARE (Medicare at 1-800-633-4227) or visit medicare.gov. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) also can point you to local resources that offer free customized advice about picking a drug plan. Visit eldercare.gov or call toll-free 1-800-677-1116.

To learn how to protect your personal information, visit ftc.gov/idtheft or call 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338). The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them.

Sunday, September 15 2024

Buying Health Products and Services Online

The Internet is convenient for comparing prescription drug prices, researching health products and services, and preparing for your next medical appointment. Use these tips to be smart and safe when researching health products and services online.

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Monday, September 2 2024

Anti-Aging Products

Some modern marketers of pills and sprays claim to have found a Fountain of Youth in a substance called HGH – Human Growth Hormone. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, says a closer look at these non-prescription products suggests that they may be nothing more than hype.

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Wednesday, August 28 2024

Food Preparation: Keep Temperature Right

The second cardinal rule of safe home food preparation is: Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

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Wednesday, August 14 2024

Discount Plan or Health Insurance?

Dishonest marketers make it sound like they’re selling affordable health insurance, when really, it’s a medical discount plan instead. Medical discount plans can be a way for some people to save money on their health care costs, but discount plans aren’t health insurance, and aren’t a substitute for it.

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Thursday, July 11 2024

Cell Phone Radiation Scams

The increase in cell phone use has generated concern about possible health risks related to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from this technology, and a market for shields as possible protection against the radio waves the phones emit.

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Thursday, June 27 2024

Avoid Crowdfunding Scams

Crowdfunding is one way to support a project you believe in and get rewards for that support. But the project you’re backing is only as good as the people behind it. Some dishonest people can take your money but produce nothing – no product, no project, and no reward.

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Thursday, May 16 2024

How to Stay Safe Online

If your computer is attacked by a virus or a hacker, it really doesn't matter what type of connection you use: the damage is done. You could lose important personal information or software that's stored on your hard drive, as well as valuable time trying to make repairs. And your computer could be used without your knowledge to attack other computers, including those that protect our national security.

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