10 illegal Medigap practices to watch for
Call the Inspector General's hotline if you believe a federal law has been broken, like if someone tries to:
- Pressure you to buy a Medigap policy or lie to get you to switch to a new company or policy.
- Sell you a second Medigap policy when they know you already have one. (They can sell you a policy if you state, in writing, that you plan to cancel your existing policy.)
- Sell you a Medigap policy if they know you have Medicaid, except in certain situations.
- Sell you a Medigap policy if they know you're in a Medicare Advantage (MA) Plan. (They can sell you a policy if your MA plan coverage will end before the Medigap policy's effective date.)
- Claim that a Medigap policy is part of the Medicare program or any other federal program. Medigap is private health insurance.
- Claim that a Medicare Advantage Plan is a Medigap policy.
- Sell you a Medigap policy that can't legally be sold in your state. Check with your State Insurance Department to make sure the policy you’re interested in can be sold in your state.
- Misuse the names, letters, or symbols of these:
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
- Social Security
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Any of their programs, like Medicare.
For example, they can't suggest the Medigap policy has been approved or recommended by the federal government
- Claim to be a Medicare representative if they work for a Medigap insurance company.
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Sell you a Medicare Advantage Plan when you say you want to keep
Original Medicare and buy a Medigap policy. A Medicare Advantage Plan isn't the same as Original Medicare. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you'll be disenrolled from Original Medicare and can't use a Medigap policy.
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