If you get a call from someone saying they’re with Premier Health Plan, beware. Earlier this year, that company discontinued all its health insurance products nationwide, including Medicare Advantage plans. Ross Corson with the state Commerce Department says, “Apparently some scam artists have decided that they were going to use the Premier Health Plan name in order to robocall consumer and try to scam them by offering insurance.”
Corson says people are always interested in hearing if there’s a health plan with lower costs. “Somebody gets a phone call that says, hey, do you want to learn about a new health insurance option? Press ‘one.’ And then what happens is that you get routed to a live person who then starts asking you questions, including trying to get your financial information,” he says.
If you’ve received such a call, contact the Consumer Services Center at the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
More in this interview:
News release from the Minnesota Department of Commerce:
SAINT PAUL – The Minnesota Commerce Department is warning Minnesotans of an insurance fraud scam involving individuals posing as representatives of Premier Health Plan, which earlier this year discontinued all of its health insurance products in Minnesota and nationwide. including Medicare Advantage plans.
Consumers from across the country are receiving numerous automated calls pretending to sell Premier Health Plan insurance. Some consumers have also received “premium” invoices in the mail or found unauthorized charges on their bank accounts.
As part of the phone scam, consumers who receive an automated call and express interest in buying health insurance are routed to a person who asks for their bank account information.
The fraudulent bills that consumers are receiving in the mail appear to be on Premier Health Plan letterhead, while the unauthorized charges on bank account statements show up as “Premier Heal.”
To avoid being the victim of an insurance fraud scam, the Minnesota Commerce Department offers these tips:
If you receive an automated call, don’t say anything and hang up.
Don’t answer calls from an unknown number or pay an invoice from a company you don’t have an insurance policy with.
If you answered a call that you believe was a scam, write the number down and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or ftc.gov/complaint
Never give personal or financial information to someone you don’t know over the phone.
Regularly review your bank account and credit card statements and report unauthorized charges to your financial institution.
If you have been contacted about buying Premier Health Plan insurance or any other suspicious insurance offer, contact the Commerce Department’s Consumer Services Center by email at consumer.protection@state.mn.us <mailto:consumer.protection@state.mn.us> or by email at 651-539-1600 or 800-657-3602 (Greater Minnesota).