Medicare Guide 2023: Complaints soar over misleading Medicare Advantage

They’re the TV stars of a bygone era, a heroic quarterback, a starship captain and a sitcom sensation.

Joe Namath, William Shatner and Jimmie J.J. Walker have been back on TV screens in recent years, working as pitchmen and urging older viewers to call in to see if they are eligible for extra Medicare benefits and bigger Social Security payments.

Consumer watchdogs say the commercials are grossly misleading, making promises the company behind them often can’t deliver. The ads – and similar marketing pitches – have coincided with a spike in complaints about Medicare Advantage marketing, which surged 165% last year.

Medicare Advantage plans provide health insurance through a private insurer instead of from the government, bundling together preventative care, hospitalization coverage and typically including prescription drug benefits, too. Federal authorities imposed new rules on marketing this year designed to crack down on misleading claims by making advertisers disclose that certain Medicare Advantage plans may not be available everywhere and requiring that they record certain sales calls.

Advocates for Medicare beneficiaries and members of Congress say more is needed. They blame insurance companies backed by private equity funds that they say are trying to win Medicare Advantage clients with advertising bluster instead of better insurance plans.

“The insurance companies are always trying to come up with new ways to trick seniors, dupe them into buying their product,” said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon.

Misleading TV ads are just one of many risks Medicare beneficiaries face this time of year. There’s a separate threat from would-be fraudsters who try to take advantage of the open enrollment period that runs through Dec. 7 to trick consumers into signing up for services that could prove expensive or to steal their Medicare number.

“Medicare fraud is extremely rampant because it’s pretty easy to pull off, sadly,” warns Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention with AARP.

Scammers can use pilfered Medicare numbers to submit sham bills or they can dupe beneficiaries into ordering expensive equipment that doesn’t meet their needs and may not be fully covered by their plans.

So Stokes and other consumer advocates encourage Medicare beneficiaries to be extremely cautious about responding to mailers and advertisements they see on TV and online, and to never share Medicare numbers with anyone but their health care provider or insurance company.

“They’re so good at making their pitch look like it’s coming from Medicare or a legitimate Medicare affiliate,” Stokes said.

If you think you’ve shared your Medicare number with someone you shouldn’t have, or have been lured into signing up for a Medicare Advantage plan you didn’t really want, notify Medicare right away.

And if you have questions about whether a plan is legitimate, or need help figuring out what’s real and what’s a scam, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for assistance. (In Oregon, it’s called SHIBA.)

“They can direct you to someone that can actually help you,” Stokes said.

Tigard Medicare insurance broker Lisa Lettenmaier said…