Stop Prescription Drug Scams

Protect Your Personal Information & Report Complaints

Con artists and fake companies are taking advantage of the Medicare prescription drug benefit to steal your information and money…….

How Do They Do It?

• Call and offer to sign you up for a $389 prescription drug plan (or similar amount).
• Offer to help you find free or low-cost prescription drug programs for a fee – often asking for $5-10 per medication or a fee of $100 or more.
• Pretend they are from Medicare, Social Security, the American Medical Association or some other governmental or healthcare organization.
• Offer to sell your prescription drugs or ask to use your Medicare benefit to buy another person’s drugs.
• Offer bribes to pharmacies, doctors or other health care professionals to change your prescription or to prescribe drugs you don’t need.
• Prescription shorting – the pharmacy gives you fewer pills than prescribed, but charges you for the full amount.

How Can You Avoid These Scams?

• Hang up the phone immediately or ask for the caller’s name and number and say you’lcall back, if you’re interested. Sometimes it’s shrewd to be rude.
• Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry at 1-888-382-1222 or www.donotcall.gov
• Count your pills when you receive them at the pharmacy or in the mail.
• Information on free and low-cost prescription drug programs is available at no charge.Ask your pharmacist or physician for information or check out websites like www.pparx.org (1-889-477-2669), www.benefitscheckup.org or http://www.needymeds.org/.
• No one can come into your home uninvited. Just say, “No.”
• Call the police, if you feel threatened or in danger.
• For questions regarding Medicare, contact the Ne Program (SHIIP) at 1-800-234-7119 or Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or www.medicare.gov/
• If something doesn’t feel or smell right, don't buy it. Trust you instincts

1-800-942-7830

Funding support, in part, by the US Administration on Aging
SMP is a project of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
Nebraska Health & Human Service System