The Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) latest Scam Tracker Risk Report includes Medicare fraud regarding durable medical equipment (DME) for adults 55 years and older.
“Medicare fraud has cost the American public more than $6 billion, and a large part of that is fraud around durable medical equipment, such as knee braces or walkers,” the BBB said in its April 29 bulletin. “By making repeated calls, scammers badger Medicare recipients into taking ‘free’ medical equipment. Then, they bill Medicare for it. By law, no one is allowed to make unsolicited calls to consumers about durable medical equipment.”
The BBB bulletin recommended that consumers who receive such telemarketing calls “refuse and report anyone offering ‘free’ equipment, supplies or services in exchange for your Medicare number.” The BBB added that Medicare DME suppliers “are not allowed to make unsolicited telephone calls or send emails to sell you equipment unless you’ve done business with them in the last 15 months.”
The agency urged consumers to report DME that arrives without their consent and noted the potential for a “same or similar” Medicare denial down the road: “If you receive an unnecessary piece of equipment but don’t report it, you may be stuck later. When the time comes that you actually need such a device, Medicare may not pay the bill for it, saying they already covered it years earlier.”
Last spring, the Department of Health & Human Services additionally warned Medicare beneficiaries about urinary catheter scams.
