Have you ever received those spam emails from a bank asking for your account information? Identity thieves are now targeting physicians and health care providers and using the scare tactic that if the information is not received within 48 hours, the provider will suffer a gap in Medicare payments. Beware of this scam!
CMS became aware of the scam where perpetrators are sending faxes to physician offices posing as the Medicare carrier or Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). The fax instructs physician staff to respond to a questionnaire to provide an account information update within 48 hours in order to prevent a gap in Medicare payments. The fax may have the CMS logo and/or the contractor logo to enhance the appearance of authenticity. Medicare FFS providers, including physicians, non-physician practitioners, should be wary of this type of request.
It probably will not be long that identity thieves will pose as Medi-Cal or private insurance companies to obtain the same information. Advise your office managers and front desk persons about this scam.
If you receive a request for information in the manner described above, please check with your contractor before submitting any information. Medicare providers should only send information to a Medicare contractor using the address found in the download section of the CMS.gov website found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNGenInfo/ or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll
Any questions or comments should be directed to: tgreen@greenassoc.com. Tracy Green is a principal at Green and Associates in Los Angeles, California. They focus their practice on the representation of licensed professionals, individuals and businesses in civil, business, administrative and criminal proceedings. They have a specialty in representing licensed health care providers. Their website is: http://www.greenassoc.com/
