Don’t Let Your Clients Fall Victim to Medicare Fraud

Every day the news outlets come out with stories of how seniors are being taken advantage of. This involves phone scams, door-to-door scams, and of course online scams. As agents, we never want to hear our clients have fallen victim to Medicare Fraud. Being their agent, it’s important to remind your clients of what they can do to protect themselves.

These are some great tips you can share with your clients in conversations, or even on your social media pages.

1. Medicare Number – never provide your Medicare number, or your Social Security number to anyone other than your doctor, or other providers. Never provide your Medicare number, even if they offer you free services for doing so. Treat this number just like you would protect a credit card number.
2. Medical Information – Protect your medical information from people other than your doctors or other medical professionals. Be cautious if they ask for your medical records or want to recommend a medical service to you.
3. Talk with your Agent about your Medicare Coverage – Knowing what services are covered or not covered will help prevent you from agreeing to a service that is not normally covered, and may cost you out of pocket.
4. Only Agree to Services You Need – Providers could pressure you into getting tests or other services you feel are unnecessary. Don’t be afraid to turn down the request, or ask to get a second opinion somewhere else.
5. Being Skeptical Is Not a Bad Thing – You have the right to be cautious about the care and services you are being offered. Using your best judgment, and oftentimes a second opinion may help you from Medicare fraud.

When your client feels like you are not only looking out for their best interests but also are there to educate them on Medicare coverage, they will feel more empowered when making decisions on their care. And will remember you for your knowledge and expertise.

The UIG Brokerage team acts as your back-office support and can help you help your clients. Reaching out to the Brokerage Team when you have a question from a client ensures you have a support system behind you. Contact us if you are looking to become appointed with the top national carriers, or even local to you carriers.