Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the card scam — and others like it — have come about just as the federal government has launched the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He blames the problem on an atmosphere of controversy and confusion surrounding the new law.
“People are scrambling to find out what to do and the con artists tell them,” DeWine said.
In many cases, DeWine said, scammers are calling or going door to door telling people they must obtain a new Medicare or Medicaid card. Another fraud making the rounds promises to provide an “Obamacare card” for a price, even though no such card exists.
The federal government’s troubled Affordable Care Act website — HealthCare.gov — is not the only spot on the internet giving authorities headaches. Unofficial sites selling coverage outside of the federal program, as well as phishing sites trying to capture consumer information, have popped up since the ACA signup period began.
Kari Higgins, Social Services Coordinator for Greene Memorial Hospital and Soin Medical Center, said official sites do not use the word Obamacare.
Still, several sites not only make it appear as though they are part of the federal program, but also feature a symbol that resembles President Barack Obama’s campaign logo from 2012.
“Opportunists see this as a way to make money and they are going to look for the most vulnerable people,” Higgins said.
Higgins pointed to one web site that could confuse consumers. The site is HealthCare.com — very similar in configuration to the official government site, HealthCare.gov. The unofficial site features a banner that reads “Obamacare, Getting down to the facts of health reform.”
Another site, ExploreObamaCare.com, has a look very similar to the government site, but it appears to be little more than a place for insurance companies to advertise their health care policies.
At least two states with their own healthcare exchanges have moved to shut down rogue web sites. California and Kentucky issued cease-and-desist orders to companies that set up sites very similar to the official state health exchange web address.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich elected not to set up an exchange site for Ohioans to sign up for ACA coverage, so they must use the federal site at HealthCare.gov.
While most of the ACA focus has been on the government web site, consumers do have other options for signing up for coverage. The federal government has designated counselors, known as “navigators,” who can help people select the right level of coverage for their family. In Dayton, the officially designated agency is the Helping Hands Community Outreach Center at 4999 Northcutt Place.
At a recent community forum on health coverage, Azia Troutman of Helping Hands told consumers they can sign up for ACA coverage online, over the telephone or on paper, using government forms provided to her organization.
The group’s project director for affordable health care, David Hickman, said the feds prefer that people use the internet to sign up. Hickman said the official web site is working better than it did when the registration period opened. Navigators in his organization are scheduled to hold a series of forums in local communities.
“My goal is to reach as many consumers as possible,” Hickman said.
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