Senior Living - Part 2

Insurance companies are frequently subject to being scammed. Scammers frequently target government insurance like Medicare by stealing newly issued medical ID cards and then stealing identities. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimates that tens of billions of dollars are lost annually to these types of fraud. Additionally, medical identity theft is now a top complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission. Billing fraud is also responsible for huge losses to Medicare funds and is difficult to assess as it can be a billing error or intentional fraud.

How does this affect a senior on an individual level? Scammers typically pose as Medicare officials and ask people to pay for their new cards which in reality are free. Or they phone a potential victim with false news of a refund and ask for the person’s ID number and bank account number to deposit the refund. “Right now … everyone is being inundated with TV commercials, brochures, and other official-looking documents in the mail about all the Medicare Advantage plans. It’s so confusing, and in an environment like that, fraud is rampant,” says Micki Nozaki of the California Senior Medicare Patrol. There are more than 50 million Medicare beneficiaries who can annually opt to swap Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans which provide scammers with the opportunity to prey on vast numbers of seniors.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have a list of tips to help prevent fraud. The first and foremost is to protect your Medicare and Social Security numbers vigilantly. It suggests treating your Medicare card like you would a credit card and do not provide the number to anyone other than your doctor, or people you know should have it. Become educated about Medicare with regards to your rights and what a provider can and cannot bill to Medicare. Review your doctor bills carefully, looking for services billed for but not provided to you. Remember that nothing is free with regards to medical care; never accept offers of money or gifts of free services. Be suspicious of your provider if they tell you they know how to “bill Medicare” to pay for a procedure or a service that is not typically covered. Before leaving your pharmacy check to be sure your medication is correct, including the full amount prescribed and whether or not you received a generic or brand name medicine. If your prescription is in error report the problem to the pharmacist before leaving.

Remember Medicare will never visit, call, or email you and ask for personal information such as your Medicare number, Social Security Number, address, or bank account number. Medicare already has this information and does not need you to provide it. Even when Medicare issues new cards that no longer contain your social security number in April of 2019 you will not be required to do anything. You can assume that anyone who claims to be helping you with Medicare and asks for your personal or financial information is a scam artist so close the door, hang up the phone, or delete the email.

When it is time to compare plans be sure to meet with a trustworthy advisor. Some insurance representatives give the industry a bad name by selling you a policy or plan that does not suit your needs or your budget. Some agents go so far as to ask you to sign a release form allowing them to make decisions on your behalf. Never sign anything related to Medicare without first reading it carefully. Additionally, it is a good practice to have a family member or lawyer review the document before signing it. The non-profit National Council on Aging (NCOA) has a free, brief assessment that allows you to compare plans online. You can also contact your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). SHIP is a provider of free, federally-funded Medicare counseling via a trained volunteer or staff member.

Medicare fraud wastes billions of taxpayer dollars annually. Carefully review your medical bills and have inaccuracies corrected. Guard your personal information vigilantly and be wary of people asking you to provide that information. Meet with a trusted insurance advisor or compare medical plan options using the sites listed above. If you are unsure about something call Medicare directly for clarification. If you’d like to discuss your particular situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at 513-771-2444 with any questions.

Many retired and older Americans are filing for bankruptcy at higher rates than ever before. While medical advances are keeping seniors alive longer, the associated healthcare costs in the quest for longevity are being off-loaded onto the older individual at a time when reduced income is a hallmark of senior living. Older Americans are increasingly filing for consumer bankruptcy. According to the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, the population aged 65 or more is filing for bankruptcy at a two-fold increase, and there is nearly a five-fold increase in the percentage of seniors in the US bankruptcy system. The economic risk for seniors is running rampant, and the sad truth is currently 97 out of 100 people aged 65 and over are not able to write a check for $600 or more due to insufficient funds.

The sentiment among Americans is that their standard of living will increase at the age of retirement when it is quite the opposite. The typical retiree has set aside about $60,000 for their old age living, and more than 50% over the age of 55 have saved less them $50,000; as much as 40% of these workers have less than $25,000 set aside. The stark reality is none of these “nest eggs” are enough to see a senior through old age and the unforeseen disasters that can deplete what little has been saved.

One of the more common financial obstacles that create this bankruptcy scenario is a health issue. Medicare is not comprehensive. In the absence of a supplemental insurance plan picking up the non-Medicare funded 20 percent cost, a senior can be left with unforeseen operation and rehabilitation costs. Without full health care coverage, the cost of staying alive as a senior is practically prohibitive between prescriptions, treatments, surgeries, rehabilitation, and assisted care. The primary two options available to a senior to cover these costs of survival are credit card debt and loans. Suddenly, at a time when most seniors should have very low monthly living costs, they find themselves back in a debt slave scenario with little or no income to address their healthcare debt.

Many seniors have concluded that retirement is not a part of their future as they will need a viable stream of income to avoid financial disaster. While this seems reasonable, it is not a good plan to assume one will be healthy enough to work forever. As we age, there is an increased probability that working will become impossible due to unforeseen illnesses. When this happens, debts begin to mount, and bankruptcy becomes a likely result. Additionally, the era of stable pensions afforded to a long-time employee has gone by the wayside. Fewer companies even offer them anymore and those that do often modify and reduce pension benefits to meet corporate expectations of financial profits.

The cost of living rarely if ever is reduced over time and while social security benefits seem like the answer to a senior’s retirement years; these benefits seldom cover basic living expenses no matter how long an individual may have worked or how much they paid into the system. The senior who is faced with government social security benefits and very little additional income usually turn to credit cards to address the gap between low income and living expenses. This scenario takes a senior right back to debt slave mode. As many as two out of three seniors who file for bankruptcy cite credit card debt as one of the primary reasons.

Scams that target the senior population are becoming more sophisticated and prolific with the advent of technology. What used to be a “one to one” scam can now be distributed via email to thousands of targeted seniors who are online in greater numbers than ever before. Often the unsuspecting senior will make passwords or personal bank information available to what they believe is a legitimate request for information from what appears to be a valid email. Seniors can also fall prey to predatory lenders as many seniors cannot read the fine print or understand the consequences of their actions. When scam artists victimize a senior, the senior often lose a large chunk of their assets which in turn can put them in a bankruptcy scenario.

While it is impossible to know the exact future, it is possible to make reasonable plans for it. Learn the ways that you can protect yourself from becoming part of these bankruptcy statistics in your senior years. Even a modest plan is better than no plan at all. Seek the advice of trusted legal and financial professionals to help you understand what you can do to protect your future. If you’d like to discuss your particular situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at 513-771-2444 with any questions.

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Affiliated with Cornetet, Meyer, Rush & Stapleton Co., L.P.A.