When a new government program is announced, scams often follow and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is no exception. Consumer advocates and legal experts say they are seeing a rise in ACA-related identity theft and other scams targeting seniors on Medicare.
Joe Baker, President of the Medicare Rights Center, a non-profit consumer services group, says "They'll [scammers] tell you Obamacare means you need to change your Medicare, or that you need to re-apply for Medicare - or that if you don't buy a new kind of insurance you're going to get fined or go to jail." That is not true, but this ploy is being used by criminals to scare seniors into providing their identities and account information.
Please help me share this very simple message from consumer advocates:
Seniors do not have to make any changes in Medicare coverage because of Obamacare. Anyone who is already on Medicare has no need of Obamacare health insurance exchanges; in fact, it is illegal for insurers to sell an exchange policy to anyone on Medicare.
Senior’s should:
• Be careful of emails purporting to be from health insurance exchanges telling them they need to click on a link to enroll in a
new program. The links often go to fake websites designed to steal their identity.
• Not pay for help. You should not pay anyone to assist you to enroll in the Marketplace. Legitimate organizations will not ask
you for money to provide assistance.
• Protect personal information. Keep personal and account information private. Don’t provide your Social Security number or
financial information to any company you didn’t contact or in response to unsolicited advertisements or emails.
• Report possible scams. If you suspect a scam, report it to the Attorney General’s Office by filing a consumer complaint in your
state.
• Visit www.healthcare.gov, or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY 1-855-889-4325) with questions.