Medicare scams this Open Enrollment

Medicare Open Enrollment opens Thursday, October 15 (9 days from now) and runs to December 7. It's also when the calls start. Medicare's own rule of thumb: "Medicare will never call you to sell you anything or visit you at your home." If a call asks for your Medicare Number, money, or threatens your benefits, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself. Caller ID can be faked, so it can say "Medicare" and still be a scam.

The San Diego District Attorney says the County's seniors were scammed out of more than $130 million in a single year. Its campaign line works on any call: Stop. Hang up. Tell someone.

Free, unbiased help: HICAP 1-800-434-0222 Text PJ

• Come to your home uninvited, or leave flyers at the door.
• Call you, unless you're already a member of the plan or you gave permission. No cold calls, robocalls, texts, voicemails or social media messages.
• Walk up to you in a parking lot, hallway or lobby to pitch a plan.
• Offer cash, or a gift worth more than $15, to join.
• Ask you to pay over the phone or online. The plan has to send a bill.
• Sell you something that isn't health coverage, like an annuity or life insurance.
• Pitch a plan in the exam room, a hospital room or at the pharmacy counter, or market or enroll you during an educational event like a health fair.
• Say "you have to join this plan or you won't have coverage next year." If you change nothing, CMS says you don't need to re-enroll to keep your coverage.

New this year: the old rule that made an agent wait 48 hours between your signed appointment form and the sales meeting ended June 1, 2026, and a sales pitch can now follow right after a "free seminar" as long as they announce it and give you the chance to leave. Take the chance: you can always walk out and call HICAP. The 48-hour rule change, explained.

National figures from the FTC's Protecting Older Consumers report (December 2025): "about $1.9 billion" in 2023 and "nearly $2.4 billion" in 2024. The FTC says Medicare is one of the names scam callers most often use.

• "You need a new card." They ask for your Medicare, bank or card number. Real Medicare cards are free and mailed automatically.
• Free cheek swabs or genetic tests, by phone, at booths and health fairs or at the door. If Medicare denies the claim, you could owe the whole cost, possibly thousands of dollars.
• A free brace "billed to Medicare." Hang up.
• Medical equipment you didn't order. Don't accept it unless your doctor ordered it; refuse the delivery or send it back.
• Remote monitoring sign-ups for devices you don't need.
• Hospice "sign-ups" from someone who calls or comes to the house asking to confirm your Medicare Number.
• Look-alike websites and search ads made to look like Medicare.gov. Type the address yourself.
• A drug plan Medicare never approved, or a bill for a visit or supply you never got.

1. Call 1-800-MEDICARE and tell them someone may be using your Medicare Number.
2. If it was personal or bank information, report it at IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan, and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
3. On Original Medicare? Set up a Medicare.gov account to see claims as soon as they're processed. Anything you don't recognize, report.

Also: the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For elder abuse, the District Attorney says to call Adult Protective Services first.

HICAP is California's free, confidential Medicare counseling. In San Diego it's run by Elder Law & Advocacy, which says it does "not sell, endorse, or promote commercial insurance products or services." Counselors compare Medigap, drug and Medicare Advantage plans and help appeal denied claims. Call 1-800-434-0222. California has 7,243,867 people on Medicare and 394 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 (down from 402), so a second opinion is worth the call. Dates and plan help: Medicare Open Enrollment in San Diego · paying a lot for drugs: Medicare Extra Help.

One visit: PJ sets up the Medicare.gov account so claims can be checked, turns on call screening on the phone, puts the real numbers (Medicare, HICAP, the doctor, you) on the fridge, and books the free HICAP appointment if a plan change is on the table. He doesn't sell insurance or give plan advice; HICAP does that. Plans start as low as $25. Text PJ · senior benefits checkup

Sources: Medicare.gov, reporting fraud, plan marketing rules, your Medicare card; 42 CFR 422.2264; Federal Register, 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule; CMS, Open Enrollment release and 2027 state fact sheets; FTC, Open Enrollment scams, look-alike sites, Medicare fraud; HHS OIG, genetic tests, braces, equipment, remote monitoring; Senior Medicare Patrol; California Department of Insurance; California Department of Aging, HICAP; San Diego District Attorney; County Adult Protective Services. Checked October 6, 2026.

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This page is built every morning from public data by SideGuy, run by PJ, a local in Solana Beach. If something looks off, or you want a hand with your plans, text PJ at 858-461-8054. A real person answers.

Local help, free to read: make your fix plan · senior benefits checkup · lower your SDG&E bill · Medicare Extra Help · the next 90 days. Plans start as low as $25.