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

The Obamacare medical insurance exchanges will open for enterprise quickly (October 1, 2013), with massive modifications for medical insurance suppliers and shoppers alike. Many Individuals have questions in regards to the legislation’s mandates and obtainable plans and who has to purchase what from whom. Add to that latest information tales about employers resembling Dealer Joes and Walgreen’s dropping employer supplied protection (each will present cash to staff 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 individuals out of their cash and their delicate private id data, resembling bank cards and Social Safety numbers.

As reported in the present day within the New York Occasions, the White Home is warning shoppers to be cautious of excessive strain gross sales pitches promising to enroll shoppers in a medical insurance plan supplied on the change:

White Home officers mentioned that customers needs to be suspicious if anybody requested them for cash to enroll in a well being plan supplied via an insurance coverage change. Professional insurance coverage counselors and "enrollment assisters" won’t ask for cash, they mentioned.

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

Immediately’s White Home announcement is a component of a bigger effort by the federal authorities to warn shoppers of potential fraud. (See additionally: The way to Keep away from Credit score Card Fraud)

The way 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 data resembling bank card numbers and Social Safety numbers.
   
• DO NOT comply with pay for assist enrolling in an exchange-offered plan.
   
• Present Medicare enrollees DO NOT must buy extra protection by way of an change.
   
• DO develop into knowledgeable of your rights, obligations, and protections underneath Obamacare at Healthcare.gov and the Kaiser Household Basis’s intensive protection of well being reform.

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