[marcia87]

Has anyone else accepted the offer of a free meter, only to have a box of supplies, which weren't ordered, sent and billed to Medicare and your private insurance company? This happened to me recently and not only did Medicare pay but my private insurance company sent me a check for $49.50. Not knowing how to handle this situation, I notified (by certified mail, return receipt requested) the supplies company, Medicare, and my private insurance company. Sounds like possible fraud.

[shockme]

did you get it from a pharmacy? if so-i know many offer free meters-if you have medicare...you must have given them your mediacre and insurance onfo......if you got a meter and paid nothing for it-they billed medicare and your insurance....trish

[marcia87]

Originally Posted by shockme

did you get it from a pharmacy? if so-i know many offer free meters-if you have medicare...you must have given them your mediacre and insurance onfo......if you got a meter and paid nothing for it-they billed medicare and your insurance....trish

The box of supplies came by Parcel Post and included a meter, pill box, 2 boxes of lancets, one box of glucose control, and three containers of test strips. The insurance companies were billed for all of these items (nothing free). I dont know how this company got my insurance information. I still have the supplies as they are not the kind I use.

Marcia

[shockme]

so you mean you never even ordered the stuff?! if not-that definitely sounds fishy! contact medicare and your insurance -maybe they've dealt with this kind of thing before......trish

[Alice]

There are a lot of scams involving diabetic supplies and medicaid. (Some companies were billing medicaid for hundreds of dollars for a meter that would cost about $39 retail). There was a segment on TV a few years ago about this...

What was the company name that sent you the meter? Did you read the fine print if you ok'd the meter? Just curious. I hate these rip-offs more than this disease.

[JasonJayhawk]

If you provided your information to one of those websites that have "Free meter--give us your Medicaid and PPO insurance information," then you fell victim to their small print, which they probably should have shown you on their site.

The sites are getting more and more tricky because of referral "fees". If you type in "Free glucose meter" in a search engine, you'll get sites that people set up to make a bunch of money for "referring" people to a diabetes supply company. There was one that kept spamming me after they obtained my email address from a newsgroup. I actually tracked it up to the CEO of the company, who admitted that he has no control over how far their "marketing" due to their referral program.

A few months ago, someone else posted about this "free meter" scam -- perhaps on a different message board... but basically, their insurance company was "milked" big bucks for something that could have been had off a retail shelf for less than half that billable price.

[marcia87]

I really dont recall when or if I accepted the offer of a free meter. I assume that I did. Anyhow, I've contacted all parties concerned and am just waiting for some action. I still have the check for $49.50 sent to me by my private insurance company. I haven't received a bill for these supplies.
The supplies came from : Access Diabetic Supply, Deerfield Beach, Fl.
There are so many attempts to defraud Medicare and senior citizens we have to be alert.

Marcia