The caller is warm and patient, and she says Medicare will cover a free knee brace and just needs the Medicare number to confirm it. So a 72-year-old retired person with a sore knee, a paid-off house, and a healthy IRA reads the 11-character number off her card. A few weeks later, a brace she never ordered shows up on the porch. Then her Medicare statement lists a supplier she’s never heard of, billing for equipment in her name.
This is one of the most common Medicare scams. It hits careful people with real savings, and fixing it takes a few phone calls. She just has to make them quickly.
In April 2019, federal prosecutors charged 24 people in an alleged $1.2 billion scheme that started with phone calls. Call centers in the Philippines and Latin America sold braces to Medicare beneficiaries. Telemedicine companies then paid doctors to sign the orders, and equipment suppliers billed Medicare about $500 to $900 per brace.
The scheme depended on stolen Medicare numbers. Part B covers durable medical equipment (gear like braces, walkers, and wheelchairs), so a working number lets a corrupt supplier bill for it. The Senior Medicare Patrol says fraudulent companies bill Medicare without showing medical need and “sometimes without even sending the equipment.”
The fake bill is the smaller problem. Some Medicare services have limits, and if Medicare thinks she already got one, it...
Magen also alleged that the campaign is being exploited by various actors to "promote hatred, delegitimize Israel, and damage its good relations with Mexico." (photo credit: Manuel Velasquez/Getty ...