Authorities are warning seniors to be on the lookout for scammers who approach with cash offers, steal personal information, including Medicare, and then falsely bill the government for large medical bills.
According to the health insurance industry, fraudsters are traveling to nursing homes and other senior care centers with Korean-American promoters and collecting personal information and signatures from Korean-American seniors, promising them $600 in cash if they cancel their Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan enrolled through Medicare.
The scammers pose as healthcare professionals and use the information and signatures to bill the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for treatments and prescriptions that the seniors never received.
In addition, the scammers are actively recruiting Korean-American seniors in Koreatowns, offering them a $100 referral fee for introducing others.
As the number of such cases increases, Korean-American medical organizations are warning seniors to be cautious.
“We are receiving a lot of inquiries from Korean-American seniors who have received Medicare statements with large amounts of money charged to their homes. It seems that they are not well-informed about their health insurance and may have signed the documents to change their Medicare carrier in exchange for cash,” said a senior health insurance official.
“It’s a typical healthcare scam that bills you for services you didn’t receive,” the experts said, adding, “Korean-American seniors are being told they can sign up for another plan at a later date, but they’re basically trying to steal their personal information.”
Medicare has two main parts where Original Medicare helps with hospital bills and prescription drugs and Advantage Medicare (Part C) is offered through private insurance companies. While Original Medicare has no restrictions on hospital or doctor visits, enrollees in Advantage plans must use doctors or organizations enrolled with their insurer.
Some Advantage plans also offer cash assistance of up to $200 per month, but it stops if the individual drops out of the plan.
“Many Korean American seniors are enrolled in advantage plans that offer a variety of benefits, and if they abruptly disenroll, they will lose their existing benefits,” noted healthcare officials, adding, “Most importantly, they may not be able to follow up with their existing primary care physicians.”
“False billing using personal Social Security and Medicare numbers is healthcare fraud and clearly a crime,” federal authorities said, urging scam victims who have been victimized to report it.
To report, contact the Department of Health and Human Services at (800) 447-8477.
BY NICOLE CHANG, HOONSIK WOO [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
