Consumer Alert: Health Insurance Scams on the Rise
Dec 18, 2007
As the year draws to a close it is the time that many people reassess their healthcare insurance needs for the next year. Those with employer based medical benefits are offered "open enrollment" periods to renew or change their health insurance plans. For those with individual or private health insurance, experts also agree that this is a good time to evaluate healthcare costs over the last year, and decide what if any changes may be needed in your individual health insurance plan. Experts also warn that because of this, it is a time when health insurance scams are on the rise.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the number of individuals and small firms who have fallen prey to fraudulent healthcare insurance plans has been increasing. Spurred in part, according to one Georgetown University professor who has followed the phenomenon, by the fact that more and more people are looking for affordable health insurance alternatives. According to the professor, since 2000, more than 200,000 Americans have been victims of purchasing fraudulent health insurance polices, and have been left with millions of dollars in unpaid medical bills.
According to commissioners of several States' Department of Insurance, seniors especially need to take note of health insurance fraud. Seniors have always been seen as easy targets for scammers and con-artists. State Department of Consumer Affairs and Departments of Insurance warn seniors to look out for telemarketers that have been targeting seniors with offers of fraudulent Medicare prescription drug plans, and fake Medicare Advantage supplemental health insurance plans. These scams pose a double threat for seniors: one, if they actually go all the way and purchase the phony healthplan, and two, sometimes the telemarketers use the guise of a health insurance plan offer to obtain sensitive information to use for identity theft.
The Department of Consumer Affairs suggests the following safety tips:
- Never give sensitive information over the phone to anyone.
- If you think a health insurance offer seems too good to be true, you are probably right
- Always ask for all documentation and read it carefully before signing any health insurance policy
- Check with your local State Department of Insurance to see if the company offering your policy is actually licensed to sell insurance in your state
- Check with your State's Attorney Generals Office or Better Business Bureau for any complaints against the company
q