United States Attorney Jane E. Young and New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella announce that New Hampshire is seeing a rise in complaints from Medicare beneficiaries receiving COVID-19 tests they did not request, a signal that someone may be using and could continue to use their Medicare information fraudulently to bill the federal government, potentially impacting a recipient’s Medicare coverage or benefits.
“Stealing taxpayer-funded resources from our vulnerable neighbors will not be tolerated in the Granite State. We are actively working with our law enforcement partners to detect and disrupt this type of fraud,” said Attorney General Formella. “Signs of this illegal activity should be immediately reported, as experts warn Medicare information can be as valuable to bad actors as credit card or social security numbers.”
“Unfortunately, the pandemic provided fraudsters with many opportunities to take advantage of medical needs and services to benefit themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Young. “This new and emerging scam is directed at stealing from U.S. taxpayers by charging Medicare for unwanted and unnecessary COVID-19 test kits. Please protect yourselves – do not ever give personal or medical information to obtain free pandemic-related products, including test kits, vaccines, and other services. Medicare will not call you and offer COVID-19-related products.”
If you or a loved one are receiving unsolicited COVID-19 test kits or requests for your Medicare information, you are urged to report it to the U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/) or call 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447- 8477).
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