Medicare Fraud and Scams: What to Do If You Suspect Foul Play
Medicare scams hurt us all by passing on higher taxes, higher costs, and more chance that patients don’t receive the services or treatment they need, since Medicare defrauders are criminals preying on those needing medical help.
Hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars are at risk each year, but defense against Medicare fraud starts with the patients and families.
The absolute, most important thing to do is read the Medicare Summary Notice, or MSN, word by word in order to make sure you are not being short changed or not. If you are not sure about a certain section of the statement or do not know what you need then a doctor will be able to help you.
If a doctor does not offer much help then calling the company that paid your claim is your next option. Their contact information is always listed on the MSN, and they want to help you in preventing Medicare scams. If you believe someone has committed Medicare fraud and dont have the MSN, you can call the hotline at 1-800-447-8477
Being a smart customer also stops Medicare fraud from happening in the first place. One thing you can do before even considering purchasing Medicare, for example, is to be suspicious of any provider that claims to endorse Medicare while initiating contact through telemarketing or door-to-door sales.
Giving your Medicare Health Insurance Claim Number or Medicare card to a provider who claims that Medicare doesnt usually cover this, but we know how to get them to pay for it is asking for trouble, as is dealing with providers who claim that Medicare wants you to have this. Medicare is an insurance company, and no insurance program ever chooses to pay more than is absolutely required.
Also, stay wary of any company that wants to help you for free that just wants your Medicare number. Just because they say it is free does not mean that they cannot bill you for something you didn’t agree to buy.
Medicare fraud is a terrible thing that only you can help prevent. If you need more information, just visit Medicare.gov and read up.
Thank you for reading this article. Another related article on the subject: Report Medicare Fraud. For more info on medicare fraud, please visit http://medicare-benefits.com
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.