How to Avoid Health Care Scams

Health Insurance

Hucksters abound in the health care industry. Here's how to avoid being victimized.

Things You'll Need

• Common sense and vigilance

Instructions

1. Steer clear of "Medicare" representatives who try and sell you other products, such as annuities or life insurance. Some unscrupulous agents try to sell Medicare Advantage Plans without properly explaining their limitations, or sometimes even sign people up for the plans without their knowledge.

2. Be cautious about giving away personal information to agents. Be sure to verify with their companies who they are before divulging anything, and never let an agent push you into buying a Medicare advantage program if you don't really want or need it. Also, never sign papers that allow an agent to be credited with making a sales pitch if you aren't intending to buy; carefully review what you are signing to make sure that the agent isn't trying to actually sign you up for the product.

3. Beware of fake drug discount cards, which can be cheaper than Medicare Part D, but cover little or nothing. And NEVER provide bank account information to sellers of these cards, as they will use this information to try and raid your account.

4. Contact your state's insurance department and check out both the agent and the policy, and perhaps get a capable friend to act as your advocate, and possibly even receive a duplicate copy of your statements, so that another pair of eyes can monitor what is going on.

Tips & Warnings

• If you discover that you have been enrolled in a Medicare or other advantage plan without your knowledge or permission, contact the Health Insurance Assistance Program in your state. They can help you formulate a course of action. Also notify your state insurance department and attorney general's office. Notifying the insurer can also help, as most insurers do not condone this sort of activity and will usually deal with agents who misbehave.