Real Possibilities
August 10-16, 2020
Beware ‘free’ medical devices
By Nan Selz
Executive Council, AARP Arkansas
A popular scam targeted at vulnerable older Americans offers a “free” medical device as a Medicare “benefit.” The scammer contacts you by phone or email and claims that you can receive a wheelchair, a walker, a brace or another medical device to help you deal with an injury or chronic condition at home. The call or email lures you into sharing your Medicare ID. The scammer then bills Medicare for costly devices that are not medically necessary, are not prescribed by your doctor and, in some cases, are not even delivered to you at all.
Medicare spends more than $6 billion a year on durable medical equipment. Such devices are extremely helpful to patients who have mobility issues related to illness or injury. But the program provides an attractive target for fraudsters who know they can exploit innocent older Americans. In 2019, one scam alone cost the government more than $1.2 billion. It involved dozens of people marketing braces to hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled Medicare recipients. Such losses can potentially mean higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs to Medicare beneficiaries.
Medicare will only cover durable medical equipment that is ordered by a doctor’s prescription. You should be wary if you are contacted by someone other than your doctor offering free equipment from Medicare.
To keep your Medicare number from being compromised, you should review your Medicare Summary Notice or your insurance company’s Explanation of Benefits for questionable charges.
If you find questionable charges, report them to Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE. If you have private insurance, contact your insurance company’s anti-fraud department.
If you received such an offer, or if you have succumbed to such a scam, you can call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 1-877-908-3360 for assistance. You should also share the information with Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE.
To stay informed about the latest scams, join AARP’s Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork. The Fraud Watch Network is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fraudwatchnetwork.
