Alaska warns Medicare users about brace and food scams

Alaska's Senior Medicare Patrol is warning beneficiaries about scammers offering free back braces, knee braces, and groceries in exchange for Medicare numbers — the same pattern of telemarketing-driven medical equipment fraud that federal investigators have spent years trying to dismantle.

The warning, issued during Medicare Fraud Prevention Week, comes as Medicare brace and durable medical equipment fraud remains one of the largest categories of healthcare fraud in the country. In 2019, the Department of Justice's "Operation Brace Yourself" indicted 24 people and disrupted what prosecutors described as roughly $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare billings for unnecessary back, knee, shoulder, and wrist braces. The mechanism, then and now, is straightforward: telemarketers contact beneficiaries, offer a "free" brace, collect the Medicare number, and pass it to complicit medical providers who bill Medicare for equipment the beneficiary doesn't actually need.

Newer variations swap in different bait. The Alaska Medicare Information Office's current warning specifically flags scammers offering free food or groceries in exchange for Medicare numbers — a tactic that exploits both food costs and rural Alaska access challenges.

A stolen Medicare number can be used to file fraudulent claims for years before a beneficiary notices, and the consequences go beyond the federal program's losses. Beneficiaries may end up with incorrect items in their medical records, Medicare coverage limits exhausted on equipment they never received, and difficulty obtaining medical equipment they actually need later because Medicare's records show a recent purchase.

The Alaska Medicare Information Office operates the state's Senior Medicare Patrol under the federal Administration for Community Living program. It recommends beneficiaries treat Medicare numbers the way they treat banking information — never share them with anyone who contacts them unexpectedly by phone, email, text, or social media. Unsolicited calls asking to verify or update a Medicare number are a hallmark of fraud.

For protection: don't answer unknown calls; create a Medicare.gov account to review claims rather than relying solely on the paper Medicare Summary Notices mailed every 180 days; and use the Senior Medicare Patrol's Medicare Tracker app to compare appointments against billed services.

Beneficiaries who find something concerning on a Medicare statement, or who realize they've shared their Medicare number, should report it. The patrol stresses that scam targets shouldn't feel ashamed — fraud operators are professionals at deception. Alaskans can report suspected fraud through an online form on the Senior Medicare Patrol website, the national hotline at 1-877-808-2468, the Medicare Tracker app's report-fraud button, or the Alaska Medicare Information Office at 907-269-3680 in Anchorage or 1-800-478-6065 statewide.