KOLO-TV in Reno featured The Medicare Store in a consumer-protection story by reporter Karlie Drew: a local organization is helping protect seniors against misleading advertisements. The full KOLO segment and article are linked below.
Navigating Medicare plans is a challenge alone, and with unethical commercial campaigns, seniors are at risk of making a mistake in their healthcare. The Medicare Store shared what seniors need to look out for.
Advertised benefits and cost savings are often only available in limited service areas, for a limited group of enrollees. Any commercial that says “call here at this number,” or advertisers who ask for a zip code — it probably isn’t the right plan for you.
Seniors can end up trusting commercials that sound too good to be true, which can change their plan completely. A mistake like this can make necessary medications more expensive or result in having to change doctors.
Doug Bolton with The Medicare Store said seniors will make changes based on these commercials without realizing the impact it will have on their healthcare services.
“What we run into most with the seniors is confusion about the commercials that highlight certain plan benefits that are only available in one county or one zip code in America. Perhaps it’s available in Florida, but the way it’s presented the seniors get confused about are those benefits available. We hear it almost every day,” Bolton said.
The Medicare Store recommends sticking to local medical services to avoid any chance of an unwanted change to your plan. For more on navigating Medicare coverage, see the How Medicare Works guide in our Medicare article library.
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