Here’s the latest scam targeting WA Medicare recipients, state investigators warn

Scammers are calling people on Medicare and falsely claiming Medicare is replacing the paper Medicare cards with plastic ones that include chips, according to the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Medicare is not replacing the paper cards, a Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) news release warns. And Medicare will never call beneficiaries to sell anything or make a home visit, they say.

According to the news release, Medicare or someone representing Medicare will only call to ask for personal information in these two situations:

• A Medicare health plan or drug plan may call a beneficiary if they already are a member of the plan. The agent who helped you join also might call you.
• A 1-800 Medicare representative can call you if you’ve called and left a message or a representative said someone would call you back.

If you have questions or suspect Medicare fraud or abuse, call 800-562-6900 and ask to speak with SHIBA.

SHIBA is Washington state’s Senior Medicare Patrol project aimed at preventing, detecting and reporting Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse.