Medicare Fraud

[Alan Rutherford]

People still have land lines?....

10 miles from the capital building of the 3rd largest state in the country and cell reception is so bad here we often need to go outside to make a cell call. Cell is getting better and landline getting worse and we'll change one day but not yet.

As for answering the phone: if it rings I answer it. The caller has about one second to make it sound like a call I want to participate in. If they ask for one of us by name I come back with "Who's calling?" If they ask a question I don't say "Yes" to anything.

[Ron Selzer]

I looked Ozempic 1mg on my plan. 3 month supply by mail order is $84.

Checked and found Wellcare listed , they are rated at 3 1/2 stars HERE, sodid not look at them earlier.
Ozempic is $1,338.95 for March thru end of 2024 , Definitly cheaper, don't like the 2 1/2 star rating.
Ron

My Doctor is not in/on Wellcare plan

[Jim Koepke]

Sometimes the spoof is actually stupid...

Like having a city & state listed as the caller with an area code that doesn't match.

Can you still buy an answering machine?

Not sure what is on the market now, but the last time we bought cordless phones the base station comes with a digital answering machine. One problem is when the power goes out. Sometimes when the power is out here we will go into town for dinner or a movie (depending on time of day). We can often get someone to call our home number after explaining our power was out. If the machine answers, we know the power is back.

jtk

[Curt Harms]

People still have land lines?

Seriously, I know some people, especially in rural areas, need a land line. I cut my land line years ago. I was literally paying to be harrassed by scammers and robocalls. The whole "Do Not Call List" concept is completely useless. Even if I didn't answer the phone, it rang almost constantly. So if I disable the ringer, why do I even have a land line? Answering machine? Can you still buy an answering machine?

You sure can, and I never turn mine off. I don't have a traditional "land line", I have Ooma,a VOIP service. It costs around $100/year. I could possibly do better but I'm happy with what I have. I often use a land line for outgoing calls, I find the voice quality better and it doesn't run the cell phone battery down. Most inbound calls never get through the greeting, they hang up half way through usually. My cell is a Pixel and has a Google screening function for suspected scams. I'm seldom bothered by scammers, touch wood.

[glenn bradley]

I pray that my wife and I don't get to the point where we are susceptible to those scammers.

I doubt you will. The advice is the same as we have been giving the public at large since before Ethernet made it out of the test lab . . . Don't connect to, accept, or open anything you aren't expecting. This includes phone calls, snail mail, email, and instant messages. Don't click the links in anything you were dumb enough to open. Don't write your passwords on a Post-It and stick it under the keyboard. Don't give anyone your personal info unless you are setting across the desk from them or are absolutely, without doubt, positive as to who they are, what they will do with your info, and how long they will have permission to do so. Essentially common sense. Some of us shouldn't juggle chain saws, some of us shouldn't be licensed to operate a motor vehicle, and some of us shouldn't use computing devices

[Patty Hann]

People still have land lines?.... Answering machine? Can you still buy an answering machine?

Yes, yes, and yes

[Mark Hennebury]

Let me send you a fax

Yes, yes, and yes

[Thomas McCurnin]

From September to about November, I got bombarded by guys with Indian sounding accents with names like "Mike" from US Healthcare, and I don't believe there is such a company. I figured out this was a scam pretty early, and whatever you do, don't give them personal information such as your exact date of birth. If you decide to change insurance or Medicare, do it locally with a licensed agent. I found that Medicare Advantage was not for me, but someone else might like it.

I still get the calls daily again from "Mike" and such wanting my DOB. I actually have fun with them. I ask their company name and address, which is usually Tampa (of course they are calling from India or Pakistan), but they cannot tell me the street address and give me a fake phone number. I generally try to keep them on the line as long as possible until they figure out I am wasting their time. 30 minutes is my record. The guy didn't know his address and I asked him how he found his way to work everyday. Great fun.

[Patty Hann]

Let me send you a fax

My Fax doesn't work right now... the strings from the OJ cans got all tangled up in it.

[Tom M King]

I have my phone set to only ring if the number is in my Contacts.

[Tom M King]

In Settings, under phone, Silence unknown calls. turn on button

[Ronald Blue]

Checked and found Wellcare listed , they are rated at 3 1/2 stars HERE, sodid not look at them earlier.
Ozempic is $1,338.95 for March thru end of 2024 , Definitly cheaper, don't like the 2 1/2 star rating.
Ron

My Doctor is not in/on Wellcare plan

One thing to check if it applies. I go to a medical complex with probably 100 Dr's, nurse practitioners, and all support staff and equipment. I was looking and didn't find my dermatologist in the Wellcare directory. My primary care is listed. When I inquired they told me that the medical group was contracted with Wellcare and as a result all service providers were also approved/accepted by Wellcare. So even if I didn't find the specific provider in the search they were still in the network. This did turn out to be true. So something to consider unless your provider is independent with no care group affiliations.

[Ron Selzer]

One thing to check if it applies. I go to a medical complex with probably 100 Dr's, nurse practitioners, and all support staff and equipment. I was looking and didn't find my dermatologist in the Wellcare directory. My primary care is listed. When I inquired they told me that the medical group was contracted with Wellcare and as a result all service providers were also approved/accepted by Wellcare. So even if I didn't find the specific provider in the search they were still in the network. This did turn out to be true. So something to consider unless your provider is independent with no care group affiliations.

Thanks my foot doc is stand alone.
I am starting to try to figure all this out now. Hope not to retire for 2-7yrs, however if my right foot gets removed sometime (not if but when), I probably will retire due to how much driving I have to do.
Ron