What Seniors Need to Know about Scams Related to New Health Insurance Marketplaces

Medicare Rights Center President Joe Baker was quoted in a recent Reuters article on seniors and marketing fraud. With the launch of the Health Insurance Marketplaces on October 1, Medicare beneficiaries are at increased risk of identity theft related to scams targeting seniors with Medicare. According to the Reuters article, consumer protection advocates worry that scammers will falsely tell seniors that they need to renew their Medicare coverage or sign up in the new Marketplaces in order to get them to divulge critical personal information on application forms. Advocates have also received reports of fake websites purporting to offer Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance policies, also known as Qualified Health Plans. "Many seniors already think the worst about the law, so they're ready for some of these false pitches," said Mr. Baker in the article. "[The scammers] will tell you Obamacare means you need to change your Medicare, or that you need to re-apply for Medicare—or that if you don't buy a new kind of insurance you're going to get fined or go to jail." Mr. Baker adds, "If anyone tells you that you have to do that, they're lying.” Seniors are also having to distinguish between two different enrollment periods and marketing messages—one for the Health Insurance Marketplaces, which began enrollment on October 1, and another for Medicare’s Fall Open Enrollment, which runs from October 15 to December 7. According to the Reuters article, the challenge for seniors will be sorting out scams from the massive, legitimate outreach now under way to promote the new law. Mr. Baker and other advocates have a simple message for seniors—you don't have to make any changes in your Medicare coverage because of the ACA. Anyone who is already on Medicare has no need to use the Health Insurance Marketplaces; in fact, it is illegal for insurers to sell a Marketplace policy to anyone on Medicare.