for release January 18, 2002
The Sandwich Generation . . . Helping Your Aging Parents
by Carol Abaya, M.A.
Are you juggling doing errands for your aging parents, your children, yourself and working at the same time? Are you tired, stressed out and upset that your once vibrant parent is now frail and needy?
Do you feel alone? Rest assured you are not alone! The Sandwich Generation is dedicated to the 50 million Americans who may have elder/parent care concerns and/or responsibilities.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Part 1 of 2
MANY SCHEMES OUT THERE TAKE YOUR $$$
With the economy continuing to be wobbly, there are numerous scams which take advantage of people's dreams and financial vulnerability. We're getting more and more questions on various schemes.
Question: I (72) was in a car accident 18 months ago, while I was visiting in Florida. I am still getting billing statements from doctors I never heard of and Medicare keeps paying. What shall I do?
Answer: Medicare is defrauded of millions of dollars because doctors bill for services never given. It's good you are checking your Medicare statements and are questioning these bills. Double check the dates of supposed service. You may not have even been in Florida at that time.
Call the doctor's office and ask for an explanation of the services. If you are not satisfied tell them you are calling Medicare. And do just that. The Medicare hotline is 1-800-633-4227 and tell them you are suspicious. Give them the specifics and they will check it out.
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Question: We got a bill from our doctor - and then a Medicare statement - for tests supposedly done for my husband. When I looked at the date and then checked my calendar, I saw we were in Europe that day. I called the doctor, and the clerk said "Oh, it must have been a clerical error. I'll take care of it." What should we do?
Answer: A very typical scheme to defraud Medicare. We all want to think our doctor is honest. But... Everyone needs to carefully check every Medicare statement for charges and dates of the charges. I received a GYN bill for my mother months after she died. I was told by the doctor's office that they had another patient with the same name. Needless to say, I reported this to Medicare. Don't be afraid to call Medicare and report the incident.
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Two other scams that have become more evident:
· staged car accidents
· predatory lending
Staged car accidents: People stage a car accident to get insurance money, and crooked doctors and lawyers are involved from the beginning.
Indicators of possible fraud:
· a car in front of you stops suddenly, and you hit it or vice versa.
· the other car is an older one and has several people in it.
· even though there is no or minor damage, the other driver insists on calling the police.
· while you wait for the police, the people in the other car just chat to each other as if nothing happened.
· when the police arrives, the occupants of the other car complain of aches and pain - called soft tissue injuries, which aren't bloody or visible.
What to do? Tell the police officer and then your insurance company exactly what happened, and that you suspect the accident was staged. The insurance company will investigate.
A friend of mine recently was in a parking lot and another car partially blocked her. The driver refused to move. The driver really wanted my friend to hit him as she tried to maneuver out. A threat to call the police got the driver moving.
NEXT WEEK: Predatory Lending
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Do you have a question? Send it in. Although letters cannot be answered individually, appropriate letters will be answered in this column whenever possible. Letters may be edited. Send letters to Ms. Carol Abaya, c/o Name\Address of YOUR newspaper (or mail direct to her at PO Box 132,Wickatunk, NJ 07765-0132) or e-mail her at SandwchGen@aol.com. Carol also has a web site: thesandwichgeneration.com.
Carol Abaya is an international-award-winning journalist and creator of the unique magazine The Sandwich Generation: You & Your Aging Parents.
NOTES TO EDITORS: text = 495 words; other material = 160 words
We would appreciate it if you would include the
"Globe Syndicate" bug at the end of the column.
©2002 by Globe Syndicate, all rights reserved.