RETIRED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
Be Aware of Medicare Ads

This year, Medicare’s open enrollment period for 2019 coverage is from October 15, 2018 through December 7, 2018. While watching television, a constant stream of commercials is trying to sell you plans and you may also be receiving information through the mail from vendors to join their plans. Some members have contacted us as to whether or not they should buy additional coverage to supplement their current plan. Consider the following:

· If your coverage is with the New York State Health Insurance Plan (NYSHIP) and you are enrolled in the Empire Plan with a Medicare RX D plan or in a Medicare Advantage Plan Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) with a Medicare D Plan, and you subsequently enroll in a non-NYSHIP Medicare product, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Medicare) will terminate your NYSHIP coverage. This means you and your covered dependents will be terminated from NYSHIP.

· If you are enrolled in a local government health insurance plan such as a HMO Medicare Advantage Plan, enrolling in an additional supplemental plan will also cause the termination of your current plan.

· Remember, Medicare allows enrollment in ONLY ONE Medicare product at a time. Enrolling in a new product will terminate your existing coverage.

Make sure you understand how enrolling in additional Medicare coverage will terminate your current benefits. If you have any questions, please contact the RPEA Members Services Helpline at (518) 869-2542 or 1-800-726-7732.

Be Alert for Spoofed Social Security Calls

Scammers are spoofing SSA’s 1-800 customer service number to try to get your personal information. Your phone rings. Your called ID shows that it’s the SSA calling from 1-800-772-1213. The caller says he works for the Social Security Administration and needs your personal information- like your Social Security number- to increase your benefit payments (or threatens to cut off your benefits if you don’t give the information). But it’s not really the Social Security Administration calling. Yes, it IS the SSA’s real phone number, but the scammers on the phone are spoofing the number to make the call look real.

What can you do if you get one of these calls? HANG UP! Remember:

· SSA does not call you to request personal information, and most certainly will not threaten you. Real SSA employees also won’t promise to increase your benefits in exchange for information. If they do, it’s a scam.

· If you have any doubt, hang up and call SSA directly. Call 1-800-772-1213 - that really is the phone number for the Social Security Administration. If you dial that number, you know who you’re getting.

· If you get a spoofed call, report it. If someone calls, claiming to be from SSA asking for your information like your Social Security number, report it to SSA’s Office of Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271.

Remember, senior citizens are targeted more than any other demographic group for scams and fraud. STAY VIGILANT!