Government warns of scams involving discount drug card

[leftchick]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-03-18-drug-card_x.htm

<SNIP>The much-anticipated Medicare program to offer cards with discounts on prescription drugs won't begin until May, but 11 states already have seen cases in which con artists are targeting Medicare beneficiaries in fraudulent come-ons, officials said Thursday.

"It's so appalling these individuals are willing to create schemes that take advantage ... of a law intended to do so much good," said Leslie Norwalk, deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Scams so far have involved phone calls or door to door solicitations to ostensibly register people for the new program. Those behind the scams offer to enroll seniors in exchange for their bank information, social security number, or credit card number.

In other instances, the caller already has some of the individual's private health history and tries to collect their banking or Medicare information, which could then be used to file false claims.

[bleedingheart]

1. This looks like some people may be violating the

privacy laws because if they already have info on the patient and they are trying to scam them then this could get ugly.

[Catfight]

2. propaganda

"It's so appalling these individuals are willing to create schemes that take advantage ... of a law intended to do so much good," said Leslie Norwalk, deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

:puke: a law intended to do so much good? WE know who the real scam artist are...(the chimp in the back raises his hand)