Health Care fraud is an increasingly sophisticated process. The Wyoming Health Department is warning people to be aware that fraud could happen to anyone.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 431 health care fraud offenders, who accounted for 8.4% of all theft, property destruction, and fraud offenses. The number of health care fraud offenders increased by 1.4% since fiscal year 2018, according to the United States Sentencing Commission.
With new reports of fake calls wrongly seeking money, Wyoming Medicaid is alerting clients and their family members to be cautious of potential Medicaid coverage scams. Wyoming Medicaid is part of the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).
A handful of clients recently received calls asking for their credit card information to process payments to renew Medicaid coverage. The calls may have come from numbers that appeared to be used by previous contractors for the Wyoming Medicaid program.
Wyoming Medicaid and the related Kid Care CHIP program never charge clients directly or ask for money from individuals for enrollment purposes.
The department does use contractors to help with its Medicaid operations. Current legitimate numbers for Wyoming Medicaid applications and renewal are:
“We never ask for banking, debit card or credit card information and our clients should never share that kind of detail with anyone who calls claiming to be representing Wyoming Medicaid or the Wyoming Department of Health,” said Lee Grossman, state Medicaid agent and Division of Healthcare Financing senior administrator with WDH.
“If someone tries to convince you they need financial information to renew Wyoming Medicaid coverage, including for various waiver programs for our disabled and older clients, they are not a true representative of our department,” Grossman said. “Rather, they are trying to scam you for their personal benefit.”
Wyoming Medicaid, part of WDH, is a joint federal-state insurance program that pays for the medical and long-term care of low-income and medically needy individuals and families.
