Medicare wants seniors to repay

Medicare wants the over payments sent back to them. They are being flexible about the repayments though. There are also criminals trying to take advantage by call seniors and asking for bank information.

Operators will be able to answer whether beneficiaries were affected by the glitch. They also can help people arrange to have the repayments withdrawn from their bank account and transferred electronically to the federal government, though this option will require that seniors provide personal banking information to the operator.

Some seniors may have received more than $500. For those who need to pay that money back gradually, people can ask to make up to seven monthly payments. Lawmakers had called on CMS to give seniors plenty of time to give the money back. The same toll-free number should be used for beneficiaries wanting installment plans.

To prevent fraud, CMS asked seniors not to give out any personal information to anybody calling offering help with the reimbursement. Medicare will not call anybody effected by the glitch.