People in the Emmaus / Lehigh Valley area — vaccinated or not — are not immune to the various types of fraud, especially when it comes to emotion-laden health issues. Medicare recipients are prone to scams, and we hope the following advice from Medicare.gov will inoculate our neighbors against those who prey on our fears and circumstances.
Note: Medicare covers the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost to you, so if anyone asks you to share your Medicare Number or pay for access to the vaccine, you can bet it’s a scam.
Here’s what to know
- You can’t pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine.
- You can’t pay to get early access to a vaccine.
- Don’t share your personal or financial information if someone calls, texts, or emails you, promising access to the vaccine for a fee.
- Con artists may try to get your Medicare Number or personal information so they can steal your identity and commit Medicare fraud. Medicare fraud results in higher health care costs and taxes for everyone.
Protect yourself from Medicare fraud. Guard your Medicare card like it’s a credit card.
Remember
- Medicare will never contact you for your Medicare Number or other personal information unless you’ve given them permission in advance.
- Medicare will never call you to sell you anything.
- You may get calls from people promising you things if you give them a Medicare number. Don’t do it.
- Medicare will never visit you at your home.
- Medicare can’t enroll you over the phone unless you called first.
Tips to prevent fraud
Help prevent scammers from using the coronavirus national emergency to commit fraud by following these do’s and don’ts.
Do’s
- Protect your Medicare Number and your Social Security number.
- Use a calendar to record all of your doctor’s appointments and any tests you get.
- Learn more about Medicare and recent scams.
- Know what a Medicare plan can and can’t do before you join.
Don’ts
- Give your Medicare card, Medicare Number, Social Security card, or Social Security Number, to anyone except your doctor or people you know should have it.
- Accept offers of money or gifts for free medical care.
- Allow anyone, except your doctor or other Medicare providers, to review your medical records or recommend services.
- Contact your doctor to request a service that you don’t need.
Check regularly for Medicare billing fraud. Review your Medicare claims and Medicare Summary Notices for any services billed to your Medicare Number you don’t recognize.
Report anything suspicious to Medicare. If you suspect fraud, call 1-800-MEDICARE.
South Mountain Memory Care focuses on high-quality, personalized care. South Mountain Memory Care is proud to offer a wide range of resident-focused daily activity programming to our residents. Each neighborhood offers activity space for group and one-on-one activities.
The brand-new building is a stand-alone memory care community, meaning that the entire building, staff, and programs, are designed to serve residents with cognitive issues. To ensure person-centered care and attention, we have accommodations for up to 28 residents. The building is divided into two neighborhoods (wings), each offering 10 private suites and 2 semi-private suites. South Mountain Memory Care is located in the Allentown suburb of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and is easily accessible from the Lehigh Valley, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. For more information, go to southmountainmemorycare.com.