Editor’s Note: As we predicted in Sept., Obamacare is a gold mine for identity thieves.
Anne Tergesen
The Wall Street Journal
November 17, 2013
During the past year, scams tied to Medicare have risen sharply as con artists have sought to exploit confusion among older individuals about the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
Now, with Medicare’s open-enrollment season in full swing, consumer advocates say beneficiaries—and the adult children who advise them—should be on guard for swindles and steer clear of unsolicited requests for personal financial information.
In the months preceding the Oct. 1 opening of the state-based health-insurance exchanges, consumer complaints about Medicare—many alleging fraud—soared. In September alone, consumers filed almost 2,000 such complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, up from 57 in January 2012. An additional 58 complaints filed this year have mentioned the ACA, up from two in 2012.
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