ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — A senior fraud watchdog group is sounding the alarm about a new scam targeting seniors and their families.
The New York Statewide Senior Action Council is warning Medicare beneficiaries about a scam focused on hospice care.
However, the scam is not necessarily targeting hospice care patients.
“Hospice care is when a doctor determines that a patient has about six months to live or less, and then they have a conversation with a patient and with their family,” said Executive Director Maria Alvarez. “The aim is not to cure anything but, at this point, to provide comfort during the last few months of a patient’s life.”
These scams include fraudsters offering free cleaning or cooking services, or new medical equipment.
Then they’ll use a person’s medicare number and apply for hospice care without the patient’s knowledge or consent.
They might approach individuals at a fair, a nursing home, or elsewhere.
“That’s one thing that we do find is that they’ll bill for all of these services and equipment and goods that are absolutely not happening, especially since the person may not even be qualifying for hospice care because they’re not dying and they haven’t been diagnosed by their own doctor,” added Alvarez.
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