If you’re considering changes to your Medicare or Healthcare.gov coverage during open enrollment, your Better Business Bureau advises you to be cautious of unsolicited calls and texts offering to help you find the best deals. Scammers often exploit this period to trick individuals into divulging personal information and financial details.
According to Medicare’s website, open enrollment for Medicare runs from Oct. 15-Dec. 7. Medicare Advantage open enrollment (only if you’re already in a Medicare Advantage plan) is scheduled for Jan. 1-March 31 or within three months of you getting Medicare.
Heathcare.gov open enrollment begins Nov. 1, with Dec. 15 being the last day to enroll or change plans for coverage starting Jan. 1. Jan. 15 is the last day to enroll for coverage starting Feb. 1.
BBB Scam Tracker often receives reports of scam calls and texts in which the caller ID has been altered to make it seem as though the recipient is being contacted by Medicare or a related government agency, but in reality it’s only an impostor.
Some people have also reported threatening robocalls purporting to be from Healthcare.gov or the Health Insurance Marketplace. In many of these cases, the person receiving the call is told they must buy health insurance or face a fine. Sure enough, they’re soon asked to provide personal information.
An individual recently reported the following on BBB Scam Tracker: “I received a text saying that my health benefits were about to expire and I needed to call the number to renew. Then, the representative told me I had to pay and my bank had to verify with them…That’s when I knew it was a scam.”
In some cases, the impostor is trying to get your current Medicare information for other means, such as submitting fraudulent purchases under your account. Another recent report to BBB Scam Tracker described an interaction with a caller pretending to be a Medicare agent: “They asked if I got a new updated Medicare card in the mail. He then verified my name and mailing address. Then he wanted me to get my old card and read off info to him, such as the date on the lower right side of the card. When he asked me to read my card number, I told him I cannot.”
According to Scam Tracker reports, if you stay on the line or follow up on text messages, these impostors usually allege they can enroll you in a better plan than what you currently have. They’ll claim that the new plan is cheaper, yet you can keep all the same services. They’ll also say that to get started, all you need to do is provide some personal information, such as your Medicare ID number and your Social Security number.
No matter how good the deal sounds and how convincing the caller seems, please don’t fall for this! These calls are fraudulent, and sharing this type of personal information with a scammer will expose you to identity theft or potential financial fraud.
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 out of the blue. Healthcare.gov and Medicare provide legitimate help for determining which plan is right for you. These people — sometimes called navigators or assisters — cannot charge for their support. If someone asks you for payment, it’s a scam. You will also need to contact them on your own. They will not call you first.
— Be wary of free gifts and “health screenings.” Keep a healthy level of skepticism any time a broker offers you 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 additional personally identifiable information. Other times, brokers offer free “health screenings” to weed out people who are less healthy. This technique is called cherry-picking and is against 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 official websites. If you want to make changes to your health care plan, go directly to Medicare.gov, Healthcare.gov or your employer’s health insurance provider. Don’t click on links in suspicious messages.
— Contact your employer directly. If you receive an unexpected email about benefits policies, ask your employer about it before you click on anything to make sure it’s legitimate.
— For more information: 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 1-800-MEDICARE to report it. If you suspect fraud when signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage, go to Healthcare.gov or call the Health Insurance Marketplace call center at 800-318-2596. If you’ve been the victim of a scam, please report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker. Sharing your experience can help others avoid falling victim to similar scams.
BBB EVENTS
Festive Forest: Enjoy the holidays while learning more about trustworthy companies and organizations in our community. BBB is partnering with EPB, Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to bring our community the second annual Festive Forest!
We’ll be lighting up Miller Park with eighty creatively decorated Frazier firs to complement EPB’s joyful holiday windows — a 40+ year tradition. Festive Forest will be live from Nov. 27 through New Year’s Day.
There’s still an opportunity for your business or non-profit organization to sponsor and decorate a tree. For more information, please contact BBB at 423-266-6144 or email will@chattanooga.bbb.org. You can also visit festiveforest.org.
Shred Day: BBB will be hosting its biannual Shred Day 9 a.m.-noon Oct. 25 in the parking lot of the Coca-Cola Bottling Co, 111 W. Shepherd Road in Chattanooga. (Location is near Exit 1A/Airport off Highway 153). This is an opportunity for individuals and families to safely dispose of papers and hard drives that contain personally identifiable information.
In addition to bringing documents and drives for destruction, you can bring electronics for recycling and drop off outdated or unneeded prescription drugs for safe disposal by law enforcement officials.
Please limit documents to three large trash bags per person and limit hard drives to four per person. For more information, please visit bbb.org/Chattanooga or call your BBB at 423-266-6144 and press #6 from our menu.
Thank you to our event partners AARP, Resource 1 Tier 3 Data Security, Hamilton County Coalition and River City Shredding and to our sponsors A-1 Barricades, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Cumulus Media Chattanooga, Double D Piping, First Horizon Bank, Local 3 news and Sunny 92.3.
Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.
news/2025/oct/04/bbb-warns-of-health-care-fraud-during-open/”>Source link