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Seniors
Beware: They’re After the Red, White and Blue!!
By Diane
Parrish
Guest Column
Thank
God for
America
and thank God for Medicare, but … I urge all Medicare
recipients, especially the senior citizens, to protect their
Medicare card.
I’ve met
too many seniors who, when asked questions about their
health, quickly flashed their Medicare card. Often, these
cards numbers are the same numbers as their social security
numbers, which also could expose them to identity theft.
I
encourage all Medicare recipients to read their Medicare
billing summaries that are sent from CMS (Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services). These statements could
surprise you, especially if someone has billed your Medicare
card for services and equipment you did not receive. If you
find someone has billed your Medicare card without your
permission you have a responsibility as a good American
citizen to report it by calling the telephone number on the
statement.
A woman
came to me last week who was quite noticeably upset about
the fraud caused by using her Medicare card. Someone
representing a company came to her building and passed out
flyers advertising free transportation while implying that
Medicare would pay for it.
She
signed a form and was told she would receive transportation
to the doctor’s office and other places she needed to go
around the city. She never received the transportation but
she did receive a billing summary from Medicare which showed
that Medicare paid $116.93 for services she did not receive.
She laughed and said she could have taken a trip South with
this kind of money. In case you don’t already know, Medicare
does not pay for transportation.
Another
woman said a doctor came to her senior residence and spoke
with some of the people. He found out she was diabetic and
said he could order diabetic shoes and a special walker but
the only catch was she had to sign a form stating he had
been her doctor for the last six months. She said she
couldn’t do it because she was not going to be a liar. I
emphasize that the primary care doctor will and should order
the medical equipment you need. He/she knows your history
and is the most qualified to order the equipment you need.
One
prominent physician told me a story several months ago about
a patient who had been under his care for several years who
had little to no health insurance and immediately after
receiving her Medicare card was contacted by telephone by a
person making a lot of false promises. She and her doctor
could not understand how this “so called telemarketer” was
able to acquire information that she had received her
Medicare card.
Another
example of senior Medicare fraud was reported by a group of
seniors in a senior residence when several people came to
their building and one of the games they played involved
their Medicare card which was placed in a bowl and while
they were being served a light snack their cards were being
held by this group of people. After the snack, cards were
drawn from the bowl and prizes were given away.
Later
some of the residents were contacted about receiving power
wheelchairs from an out of state medical equipment company.
One person reported receiving one of these power wheelchairs
which turned out to be a “used chair” which never worked and
she was unable to contact a company for repairs. Her doctor
never wrote a prescription and the equipment cost showed up
on her Medicare billing summary.
Medicare
wants us to report fraud because certain unscrupulous people
are stealing our money, our benefits and our hard work in
this country.
Did you
recently discover you had a Medicare Advantage plan when you
hadn’t signed up for one? Many seniors are reporting this.
If you
have a Medicare Advantage plan and got sick in another
state, are your benefits limited?
Check to
be sure your home care agency, nurse or doctor has a license
by calling or logging on the state government to acquire
information about their right to practice and deliver health
care to you.
We live
in the most blessed country in the world and as citizen of
this great country we have an obligation to quickly report
fraud involving Medicare.
Guard
your (Medicare) card!!
Diane
Parrish is the founder and administrator of Parrish HomeCare |
