Family members oftentimes live far away from each other; some are hours apart, and others live in different parts of the country. This poses a huge challenge when it comes to caring for our loved ones who are still living in their own homes without any type of supportive services.

I do a lot of research on the FACTS, and I’ve recently learned that, according to The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, fake and deceptive health plans have now spread across most of the states in our country, and its leaving millions of people without health insurance. Victims of these scams have had to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills out of their own pockets when they found out that the plan they signed up for was bogus, and the Insurance Company they signed up with was completely refusing to pay the bill.

Crooked plans can promise all kinds of things, and crooked door to door sales agents can lie about everything. They target the most vulnerable of our older population, and what is really concerning is that by the time the vulnerable individual needs medical care and health insurance coverage, the door to door insurance sales agent is long gone. If a pushy salesman convinced you to sign documents in a hurry, or he convinced you to share with him your Medicare Insurance card number, social security number, or other personal information, be aware that those are all red flags of an imposter.

There are warning signs: A Pushy salesperson, the deal sounds too good, or your unable to see or completely read the actual health insurance policy.

The remedy is this: Take YOUR TIME TO RESEARCH the entire policy, company, and salesperson. READ YOUR POLICY completely. Find out if the PLAN ITSELF and your agent are licensed through the State of NH Insurance Department and the company they work for. And last but not least, speak to someone from your INSURANCE COMPANY personally TO VERIFY THE PLAN AND YOUR INCLUSION ON THE POLICY. REMEMBER: SCAM ARTISTS KNOW IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR TO RENEW HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS, AND THEY’RE LOOKING TO CAPITALIZE ON THEIR OWN FINANCIAL WEALTH OFF OF YOU.