Hundred of us fall victim to medical health insurance fraud every day and the problem for most of us is that it can be very difficult to spot until it is too late. In most cases it is not until you come to make a claim which is denied that you discover that you have joined the growing list of people who have been victims of this particularly nasty form of fraud.
One of the problems with health insurance fraud is that there are many different forms of fraud perpetrated today and some of these are very cleverly carried out and extremely difficult to spot. There are however a number of things that you can do to help protect yourself.
First, you should always be wary of any health insurance plan which offers you excellent coverage at a very low cost. Medical bills have been rising consistently for some considerable time now and health insurance, in whatever form you purchase it, is not a cheap item. So, if you are offered a plan at a price which seems too good to be true then the chances are that it is not true.
Second, you should be especially suspicious of unsolicited mail which offers you discounted health insurance and your suspicions should be heightened if this offer comes from a company whose name you do not recognize. Fraudsters are especially adept at using names which closely resemble well known household names but which, on close inspection, are found to be spelt slightly differently. If you are not sure about the company but feel that it might be genuine then check with your State Insurance Commission to see if they are aware of the company and, more importantly, have licensed it to sell insurance in your state.
Thirdly, if you receive an offer which appears to be genuine you should read through it in its entirety and pay close attention to any fine print. Even if the offer is genuine, it is the fine print which covers such things as exclusions, which may transform an apparently good offer into a very costly one.
Forth, if a salesperson calls with an offer and asks you either to pay in cash or to pay the full amount of any premium up front then you this is almost certainly a case of fraud.
These are just a few of the steps that you can take to protect yourself against medical health insurance fraud. Perhaps the best answer however lies in only ever purchasing a health insurance plan from a well established and reputable company with a sound track record.
Remember too that there is perhaps nothing better than a personal recommendation from somebody you know and trust. So, if you have a friend or family member who has a plan with a particular company and has had a good experience of dealing with that company, including making claims against their plan, then this is one of the best places to start your own search for sound health insurance.
