Seniors in Louisiana Advised to Beware of Medicare Scams During Open Enrollment

Louisiana – The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) announced on November 23, 2022, that the LDI Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) is once again warning senior residents to be on the alert for potential scams during Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period.

Beneficiaries can make changes to their plans during the Open Enrollment Period, which closes on December 7. Unfortunately, it is also a period when con artists increase their efforts to deceive unwary citizens.

Scammers may attempt to deceive victims by enrolling Medicare enrollees in new plans. Because insurance brokers are not permitted to make cold calls to seek business, they may hire outside marketers to contact Medicare recipients and offer to enroll them in “better” plans.

However, these conversations frequently have nothing to do with placing someone in a better plan and instead result in the Medicare beneficiary being transferred to a worse plan for their needs. SHIIP advises Medicare recipients to resist unsolicited calls offering to assist them in switching to a different Medicare plan, as well as other such frauds.

Over 41,000 consumer-marketing complaints were submitted last year, up 165% from 2020, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“We’re in the midst of Medicare Open Enrollment and a lot of people are getting bombarded with phone calls, TV commercials, emails and mail,” said SHIIP Director Vicki Dufrene. “If you are overwhelmed and confused, do not hesitate to call our office at 1-800-259-5300. We want to make sure everyone who is eligible for Medicare can get access to the care they need and be informed about their health care coverage options.”

Citizens can also safeguard themselves against scammers by doing the following:

• Do not engage with unsolicited callers who want to talk with you about Medicare.
• Do not give unsolicited callers your name, your Medicare identification number or Social Security number. Scammers could use this information to make changes to your plan without your knowledge.
• If you do get an unsolicited call about Medicare, ask the caller for their name and license number, then call Medicare or SHIIP to report what you experienced.
• If you discover that your plan has been switched without your knowledge, call SHIIP so that we can ask Medicare to change it back.
• If you have questions about Medicare, call a trusted partner like SHIIP or the Senior Medicare Patrol.

If you have any questions or are afraid that you or a loved one has been a victim of a scam, call SHIIP at 1-800-259-5300 or the Senior Medicare Patrol at 877-272-8720, follow this link, or go to www.stopmedicarefraud.org.