Create A More Versatile Health Plan With A Wex Medicare Advantage Flex Card
Health Plans have the freedom to create flexible benefit accounts that cover multiple categories to best suit member needs. Health plans with a WEX Medicare Advantage flex card are versatile to provide members flexibility on how and where to spend supplemental dollars on various eligible healthcare costs, such as:
- Dental: Cleanings, fillings, extractions, dentures, emergency, complicated procedures, and more
- Vision: Routine eye exams, eyeglasses, contacts, and fittings for frames/contact lenses
- Hearing: Hearing aids and other associated expenses
- Fitness: Fitness club memberships, gyms, and sporting goods stores
- Chiropractic: Medical chiropractic care
- Grocery/over-the-counter products: OTC medications, products and health related foods
- Rewards: Reward cards for various OTC products, grocery items, and healthcare purchases
- Non-emergency transportation: General-purpose or non-emergency medical rides
They Claim To Be Offered By The Government
While flex cards may be offered as part of Medicare Advantage plans, there is no government flex card for seniors. This means they are not part of government-managed Medicare plans. Advertisements that claim or indicate that flex cards are being offered by government agencies are, therefore, patently false.
This is a red flag because ads like this make it seem as though the government has some role in overseeing or managing these cards. For example, you might see an ad offering a Medicare flex card while these flex cards are part of Medicare Advantage plans, not being clear about this upfront is a red flag.
How Do Seniors Get A Flex Card Easy
Presently there exists advertising for Medicare-provided Flex Cards by many providers. These ads contain numerous misleading statements. Truthfully, the government doesn’t offer cards to seniors. The card also has no role in government-funded programs. Private health plans do not advertise their cards. Consequently, there are several legitimate insurance companies that provide these advantages. Each has its own advantages. The Medicare Advantage plan does not provide the cards Benefit.
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Ways To Avoid Medicare Fraud
The primary aim and plans of the card flex cards are to persuade seniors to sign up for new Medicare Advantage plans during the annual registration period. But sometimes, you can be enticed by a fraud that can take all your cash. Following are the three ways to avoid these Medicare frauds:
Avoid Sharing Personal Details Online
As a general guideline for Medicare, you should never provide personal/private details online to unknown businesses. Never divulge your private information to anyone acting as a Medicare salesperson. If they come up to you or get in touch with you first, dont respond. Most reputable services will request you to get in touch with them first they wont do so without your consent.
Anyone who calls you and then wants the details of your Medicare card is flashing red flags. We often succumb to our fear and provide them with our personal information. But its essential to maintain your calm and avoid danger.
Avoid Following Risky Advice
You should exercise caution in all situations, not just online. In-person counselors with hidden agendas are another thing to be cautious about. Always be mindful of your environment and stay away from anyone who approaches you without your consent.
Find a Reliable Medicare Advisor
The ideal method or plan for locating a reliable Medicare expert is to contact your local area agency on Aging. To help you manage the intricate benefits, several states offer health insurance counseling and advocacy programs.
FAQs
How Do You Qualify For A Medicare Flex Card
To start, look for private insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans in your area. Then, check out the available plans to see if they offer flex cards as a benefit. You can apply for the plan of your choice during a Medicare enrollment period. If you’re approved, the company will let you know about the maximum spending limit.
Make sure to read the fine print on the Medicare Advantage quote insurance companies may use flex cards to replace other benefits. Plans with flex cards may also have higher premiums or strict in-network requirements.
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What To Do If Youre A Victim Of Medicare Fraud
Even if you do everything right, you could still be a victim of Medicare fraud. If you suspect that youve been victimized, the first step is to reduce the amount of damage the scammer can do to your identity or credit history. If youve provided any credit card information, notify your card provider and cancel the cards to reduce the risk of any fraudulent spending. Next, contact your bank to inform them that you may have been a victim of Medicare fraud and identity theft and ask them to watch for any suspicious activity. You may also want to contact your primary care doctor and local pharmacist to head off any attempts by scammers to use your information.
If you suspect you are the victim of a scam, dont let the scammer know you are suspicious since this may prompt them to do something rash with your information, such as running up credit card debt or trying to sell your personal information online. Instead, stop all contact with the scammer and report the scam to the authorities.
What Are Flex Card Benefits
So what is a flex card for seniors? A flex card for seniors is a debit card offered by certain private Medicare Advantage providers. They’re designed to help you pay for medical expenses that aren’t covered by your plan that way, you don’t need to pay out of pocket.
Each insurer sets its own terms for the spending limit and permitted uses. Providers may allow you to use a flex card for expenses such as:
- Dental, vision and hearing needs
- Medical equipment, such as dentures and glasses
- Insurance copays
Flex cards are only available with certain plans they may not be available in every state or county. Spending limits can vary based on your location and plan type.
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Is The Flex Card Real
I was able to identify many flex cards from legitimate insurers like Humana but I could not find any that offered as much money as the advertisements claimed. The largest legitimate flex plan I found included a $1,000 flex card and a $50 monthly debit card for other out-of-pocket costs, for a total of $1,600 per year. Thats far less than the $2,880 that I originally saw advertised.
Ultimately, the amount of money that you may be able to receive on a flex card varies depending on where you live and what plan you select. Many of the flex card offers I found were only available for enrollees in specific states.
Even if you are eligible, its important to evaluate any Medicare Advantage plan very carefully. Although the flex card is an enticing offer, you need to make sure that you arent sacrificing other precious health care benefits to get it. If you dont read the fine print carefully, you may end up paying the price in other areas of your plan.
Why Are There So Many Medicare Scams
Scammers love Medicare open enrollment season. Historically, the open enrollment period between October and December is a prime time for scammers who want to prey on seniors because this is when seniors can change their health care plans. Seniors expect to have to provide sensitive personal information, like their name, Social Security Number, Medicare information and even bank information during this process, so its even easier than usual for scammers to get this information.
Aside from that, there are also many websites that have affiliate relationships with various Medicare Advantage providers, which means they get a commission if they can lure you into a sale. Although they arent technically scammers, some of them dont mind playing dirty and being deceptive in their advertising.
Health insurance is complicated enough without worrying about these bad actors, but its something we have to always be vigilant about.
In fact, in 2022, it looks like some savvy health care plans have changed their vocabulary. Instead of offering flex cards for seniors, now theyre offering an All-Access Black Card. What they dont tell you is that this is basically just a flex card with a new and exciting name.
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Scams To Avoid During The Transition To New Medicare Cards
Fraudsters take advantage of times when things are changing and its more difficult to spot a scam. To protect your older adult from Medicare card scams, educate them about 3 common techniques that con artists may use.
These scammers often claim to be calling from Medicare and will lie and cheat to try to get your older adults current Social Security number-based Medicare number.
Scammers will:1. Ask your older adult to confirm their Medicare number or Social Security number so a new card can be mailed out.
- This is a scam. Medicare will not call about the new card and they wont ask for your older adults Social Security number.
2. Tell your older adult there will be a charge for the new card, so they need to verify their personal information, bank information, or credit card information.
- This is a scam. The new Medicare card is free. Plus, they will not call to ask about bank information.
3. Threaten to cancel your older adults health benefits if they dont share their current Medicare number or other personal information.
- This is a scam. The new card will not affect Medicare benefits.
For more information about the new Medicare card, visit the CMS new card information page.
If a scammer calls you or your older adult to ask for their Medicare number or other personal information, hang up immediately. Then, report it by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or by going to the FTC website.
Is A Flex Card Free Money
A flex card is not free money. While advertising for these cards may make it seem like youre being given free money to spend on healthcare expenses, this is not exactly true. Although flex cards do come pre-loaded with a set dollar amount you can use, the benefits of this money may be offset by additional out-of-pocket costs such as higher deductibles, higher coinsurance rates, and higher monthly premiums.
This is because flex cards are offered as part of private insurersMedicare Advantage plans, not as stand-alone items. Getting a card means signing up for a new insurance plan, which comes with its own set of costs, benefits, and coverage limits. For example, you might see an offer for a flex card with a $1,000 balance but if the insurance plan tied to the card comes with a $25 per month increase over your current Medicare Advantage premium and doubles your deductible from $500 to $1,000, you could end up paying more each year even with your flex card.
Its also worth noting that theres no set amount for flex cards. While some private insurance companies may offer cards that carry balances of several thousand dollars each year, many may fall in the lower hundred-dollar range.
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How To Use Your Flex Card
Using a flex card is like using a debit card. If the healthcare service being provided is covered by the flex card, cardholders would swipe the card at point-of-sale terminals to pay for services, and the amount is deducted from the account. Once the money in the flex card account is spent, the card cannot be used again until it is reloaded by the insurance provider based on their guidelines.
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Does Medicare Have A Flex Card For Seniors
Home / Blog / Medicare News / Does Medicare Have a Flex Card for Seniors?
Medicare advertisements are constantly flooding our screens. However, many of these ads can be confusing or misleading. So, we are here to clear the air about one product the flex card for seniors on Medicare.
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Why Seniors Should Be Careful About Medicare Scams
Medicare open enrollment season is a prime time for scammers who want to prey on seniors. Because this is when seniors can alter their health care plans, the open enrollment period is between October and December. They often try to steal peoples personal information or sell them bogus health insurance plans by collecting their personal and financial information. People need to be aware of these dangers and be careful when interacting with strangers during this time.
Apart from that, some affiliated websites receive payments from medicare advantage providers for persuading customers to buy their products. So even though they arent technically fraudsters, some of them dont mind being deceitful in their marketing.
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How Can You Protect Yourself From Medicare Scams
The whole point of the flex card for seniors is to lure seniors into enrolling in new Medicare Advantage plans while its open enrollment season. As you may know from our previous video on Medicare benefits, Medicare has many parts and is very complicated. Medicare Advantage insurers make it a little easier by bundling all the benefits together and often packaging additional benefits into their plans. However, the costs for these plans vary and not all seniors are eligible for them.
Health care is confusing and its too important to make mistakes on. When people advertise things like this, its usually because they have a financial interest in getting you to sign up. It can be almost impossible to differentiate between the paid agents and the legitimate unbiased experts.
Dont Provide Your Personal Information Online
You should never submit sensitive information online to unfamiliar companies as a general rule. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous people out in the world who claim to work for Medicare. Dont give them any of your personal information! They will only use it against you and take advantage when they have access or knowledge that can financially harm someone, so beware! Its a significant red flag if someone contacts you and then requests your personal information. We always have the tendency to give into fear and provide them the personal information. But its best to stay calm and not fall into the trap.
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Signing Up For A Flex Card For Seniors
Now that you have found a Medicare Advantage plan that includes a flex card, how do you sign up? The process varies a little depending on whether or not you have alreadysigned up for Medicare. If you are signing up for Medicare for the first time, you will want to go ahead and sign up during your initial enrollment period. Go ahead and contact the insurance company that manages the Advantage plan to get started. The process usually just requires providing them with your basic personal information to get you signed up. Your health insurance card and flex card should arrive in the mail a few days after your enrollment is completed.
Current enrollees in Medicare who wish to switch to a Medicare Advantage plan with a flex plan benefit will have to follow a slightly different process. Remember that you cannot simply change Medicare plans at any time during the year. You will need to wait until the annual open enrollment period unless you qualify for a special enrollment period. Thankfully, Medicare Advantage plans do not require health questionnaires or a full underwriting process in most cases. You will simply need to contact the insurance company to get signed up. In many cases, you can enroll for health care coverage with the company online.
How Do You Qualify For A Senior Flex Card
The Flex Card will give you the option to enroll in an eligible health plan that has flexibility in spending. The flexible card offered by older citizens generally ties the card to Medicare Advantage plans. If you have not exhausted your health care or limited expense account by December 31 st, FSAFEDS will automatically carry over up to $500 of unspent funds into your health care or limited expense FSAFEDS account next calendar year. This year senior bonus flex card 2022.
New employees can enroll outside of Open Season within 60 days of their start date, but such an enrollment must take place on or before September 30. Expenses incurred during that window can be filed through April 30th of the subsequent year. The Federal Flexible Spending Account Program provides tax-advantaged flexible spending accounts that Federal employees can use to save on their health care and dependent care expenses.
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Are Flex Cards Available With Other Medicare Programs
Dont fall victim to online scams. Flex cards are currently only available for Medicare Advantage plans, not for any other Medicare program. If someone is offering you a flex card with an Original Medicare or Medicaid plan they are trying to scam you.
If you are having difficulty covering your health care expenses on your own, there are legitimate Medicare resources that can provide assistance.