Lately, the majority of Spam phone calls I get are from folks who claim to be with the So-and-So Health Center or the Whatever Wellness Center or some name that sounds kinda like a legit health-oriented business. They suggest or outright claim that they are an official branch of Medicare and suggest or outright claim some referral from one of my actual doctors. Then they start peppering me with questions about my well-being.
They want to know what parts of my body hurt or if I'm diabetic or having trouble sleeping or anything that might need curing. If they were truly referred by my doctor they wouldn't have to ask these things. Sometimes, they say something like, "I'm calling to complete your semi-annual wellness questionnaire" as if this is something routine I've complied with in the past.
Near as I can understand, the idea here is that if I say, "I'm having trouble with my gall bladder," they will offer to send me a gall bladder bandage or some other piece of (probable) junk that will make me all better. It will come at that most expensive of prices — "no cost to you" — and they'll bill Medicare or they'll bill me and then tell me to pay the bill and put in to Medicare for reimbursement or…well, someone's going to pay for the probable junk. Probably me.
I usually hang up but this morning on a whim, I said to a lady who called from "Camden Medical Supplies," "Hey, I get three or four of these calls each day. I have no pains except for these calls. How do I get them to stop?"
She replied — and I swear, she actually said this — "Oh, it's easy. Just cancel your Medicare!" That just might be the only way.