Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Page 7
AFFAIRS OF STATE (Column)
Expect Con Artists to Exploit Seniors Seeking Drug Discounts
By DAVID KLINE
Now that the Medicare discount drug card program has been launched, law enforcement officials are on the alert for the inevitable scams that will follow.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer issued a warning to seniors as sign-ups for the Medicare cards began.
“Deceptive sales practices already have occurred in other states,” Lockyer’s office warned. “Seniors should especially be careful about buying cards from non-Medicare-approved companies … and about giving out personal identification information.”
For example, the attorney general noted that a person should never give out bank accounts numbers or passwords while signing up for the discount cards. Legitimate companies have no need for that information, and should never request it.
The Medicare cards are part of the law signed by President Bush last year to add a prescription drug benefit to the national health insurance program for seniors. The cards are an interim step, designed to give some relief from high drug prices—10 percent to 35 percent off, according to most estimates—while the bureaucracy needed to enact the taxpayer-funded drug benefit is created.
The discount cards are voluntary. Medicare recipients who don’t want to participate don’t have to.
But those who do want to get a discount drug card have some choices to make.
First, seniors should know that the cards are not actually put out by Medicare. Rather, they are given or sold to seniors by private companies. The cards which meet standards dictated by Medicare officials are marked with a seal that says “Medicare Approved.”
The cost of the cards varies, from free to $30 a year—the maximum allowed by Medicare. A person can enroll in one Medicare-approved discount card each year.
Enrollment for cards began May 3. The cards can be used beginning June 1. The entire discount card program ends Dec. 31, 2005, since the Medicare drug benefit will kick in the next day.
People with very low income have another option. Those with income less than $12,569 per year (or $16,862 for couples) can apply for a $600 credit that can be used to pay for prescription drugs.
Before paying money for a card or giving out personal information, seniors should check Medicare’s Web site, at www.medicare.gov, or call the program at 1-800-MEDICARE to verify that the company selling the card is legit.
AARP provides another tip: people are not allowed to sell Medicare-approved discount cards by phone or by going door-to-door, so don’t buy your cards from salesmen using such tactics.
The only way to sign up for a Medicare-approved card is to call a provider. The provider will ask for your name and address so an application can be sent to your home, AARP says. On the application, the person applying for the card will have to provide a Social Security number and Medicare number.
It should be noted that AARP is not a casual observer in this effort. The advocacy group/magazine publisher/insurance agent is partnering with United Healthcare Insurance Co. to provide a Medicare-approved discount card, and it will make money on the transaction.
Con artists also are hoping to make money on the cards by capitalizing on the newness of the program and the accompanying confusion. Keep this in mind if you decide to sign up for a card, and help protect others by reporting any sketchy behavior.
Complaints can be filed with the attorney general online at www.ag.ca.gov, or by writing to the Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550.
— Capitol News Service
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company