Obamacare Fraud Alert: Con Artists Prey on Fearful Well being Insurance coverage Shoppers

The Obamacare medical health insurance exchanges will open for enterprise quickly (October 1, 2013), with massive adjustments for medical health insurance suppliers and shoppers alike. Many Individuals have questions concerning the legislation’s mandates and obtainable plans and who has to purchase what from whom. Add to that latest information tales about employers corresponding to Dealer Joes and Walgreen’s dropping employer offered protection (each will present cash to workers to buy their very own insurance coverage, as a substitute), and confusion reigns.

(See additionally: Information to the Reasonably priced Care Act’s Well being Insurance coverage Trade)

Naturally, unscrupulous scamsters have stepped into the chaos to con folks out of their cash and their delicate private identification info, corresponding to bank cards and Social Safety numbers.

As reported at present within the New York Instances, the White Home is warning shoppers to be cautious of excessive stress gross sales pitches promising to enroll shoppers in a medical health insurance plan provided on the trade:

White Home officers stated that buyers needs to be suspicious if anybody requested them for cash to enroll in a well being plan provided via an insurance coverage trade. Authentic insurance coverage counselors and "enrollment assisters" won’t ask for cash, they stated.

As well as, White Home officers stated that Medicare beneficiaries didn’t want to enroll via an insurance coverage trade. Advocates for older Individuals stated that many had been confused and wrongly believed that they wanted to use for protection via the exchanges, scheduled to open Oct. 1.

At present’s White Home announcement is an element of a bigger effort by the federal authorities to warn shoppers of potential fraud. (See additionally: Easy methods to Keep away from Credit score Card Fraud)

Easy methods to Defend Your self

The federal government is encouraging Individuals to take a number of steps to guard themselves from fraud.

• DO NOT give out personally figuring out info corresponding to bank card numbers and Social Safety numbers.
   
• DO NOT conform to pay for assist enrolling in an exchange-offered plan.
   
• Present Medicare enrollees DO NOT must buy further protection by way of an trade.
   
• DO turn out to be knowledgeable of your rights, obligations, and protections below Obamacare at Healthcare.gov and the Kaiser Household Basis’s in depth protection of well being reform.

Have you ever been contacted by a con artist providing that can assist you join insurance coverage on an trade? Is the brand new legislation complicated?