| Scams emerge as state SeniorCare program starts |
| The Associated Press MADISON -- Con artists have been calling elderly Wisconsin residents promising to sign them up for the state's new prescription drug program in exchange for a fee, but only the state can accept applications, officials said Wednesday. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has taken about 20 complaints since July, when senior citizens could start signing up for SeniorCare, agency spokesman Glen Loyd said. Legitimate applications for the program are available on the state Department of Health and Human Services web site, said Peggy Handrich, administrator of the Wisconsin Division of Health Care Financing. They also are available through local aging agencies, she said. Applications should be mailed with a $20 enrollment fee, Handrich said. "Basically, no one should be calling you about SeniorCare," Loyd said. Many con artists ask for seniors' checking account numbers, promising to sign them up for the program, he said. "It's just a scam," Loyd said. "The con artists know SeniorCare has started. There are a lot of people zeroing in on all the publicity." The state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance also has issued an order to Milwaukee-based insurance company FHK Corp. to stop calling seniors and mentioning SeniorCare. The order said the company's representatives asked |
| With any new, beneficial program there are always those that are waiting and looking for the opportunity to make a quick buck or two or several by scamming the very people the program is designed to assist. The following article is from the "Green Bay Press-Gazette" dated Thursday, August 29, 2002. |
seniors if they had heard about the program, then asked if a representative could come to their houses to talk without disclosing the purpose was to sell insurance. The Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups has posted a warning about SeniorCare scams on its web site. Click here. The SeniorCare program is set to begin Sunday in 1,200 pharmacies around Wisconsin. So far, 39,000 seniors have been enrolled in the program, said Cheryl McIlquham, director of the Bureau of Health Care Eligibility. Another 3,000 people are expected to be approved by Sunday, McIlquham said. State officials expect about 177,000 seniors to enroll in the program by June 2003, Handrich said. Residents over 65 started signing up for SeniorCare July 1. All Wisconsin seniors except those with Medicaid coverage are eligible for the program, which will work on a sliding income scale: * Anyone make more than $21,265 (individual income; $28,656 per couple) will pay full price for prescription drugs until they spend the difference between their income and that level; then they have to pay a $500 deductible, and then a copayment of $5 for each generic prescription or $15 for each brand-name prescription. * Residents who make between $14,177 and $21,264 (individual) have to pay the deductible and the copays only. * Seniors who make less than $14,176 (per individual) only have to make the $5 for generic or $15 for brand-name payments with each prescription. |
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