I have gotten THREE calls from Medicare Advantage before noon today!!!!!!

[Scottie Mom]

Last edited Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:26 PM - Edit history (1)

The first two were from "Kathy" and clearly recorded and keyed to respond to what was said. On the second call, I started speaking Romanian and "Kathy" immediately hung up.

The third call was from a "live" person...and I told them, "DO NOT CALL ME AGAIN RE: MEDICARE ADVANTAGE!!!!!!"

I cannot just not answer because I am waiting for some information I need on a project and I am not sure what number will be returning my call.

I am sooooooooooo sick of Medicare Advantage and their damn unsolicited phone calls!!!!


EDIT TO ADD: I just got my FOURTH MOTHERFUCKING call from Medicare about 2 minutes ago and I let the caller know how pissed I was. Apology? No...hung up on me!!!!!!

FUCK THIS SHIT!!!!!!

[chillfactor]

1. They also flood my cellphone

with unwanted texts!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Used to get those

I generally don't answer unless I know the number calling me.

[Scottie Mom]

5. Same, but right now, I am waiting for info on a legal case and I am not sure of the number...

...that will be calling me. Have to have this info or I would just skipped numbers I don't know.

[a kennedy]

3. AND they're all over the TV again.......🤬 🤬 🤬

[Skittles]

4. that right there tells me it is a scam

fuck those vultures

[Scottie Mom]

6. Boy, do I agree.

The "Kathy" ones are the most annoying...like no one is gonna realize it is a recording that reacts to what is said to it.

Gotta say, if got really quiet when I spoke Romanian to it!

[Earthrise]

7. Yes! How can people not notice this? If a company that pay THAT much in ads

they are swimming in an ocean of $$$$$$$ they've stolen from people who needed it for health care. People are dying so Republican bastards can get donations for their campaigns.

[Scottie Mom]

8. This! 100% this! EOM

[Skittles]

9. well it's technically not a company per se

it's medical plans from private companies - but the ultimate goal is to get rid of Medicare

[Scottie Mom]

10. They are soooooooooooooo annoying. I feel like a captive audience that someone thinks is stupid.

And stupid enough to not see through the fine hand of private insurance running all of this.

[Earthrise]

13. They're relatively recent "trick" is to ask people to call a number to "check their zip code" -

to see the types of plans available in their zip code.

I call it a trick because it is classic "foot-in-the-door."

If you can get people to agree to a small commitment (calling to check their zip code) - you can win their trust (by telling them all about plans that sound good).

Once you have their trust, you can also get them to agree to a more significant proposition - abandoning Medicare for CRAP plans that sound better because they have some zippy features (gym membership) that will only be useful when you're relatively healthy. When your health declines, it's too late - you're trapped.

[Earthrise]

11. Yes! 100% (eom)

[jimfields33]

14. 39 million have answered the Medicare advantage program's call

That’s why they continue. 48 percent of all Medicare recipients are on Medicare advantage. That’s a pretty high number. I’ll have to wait 15 years to decide.

[slightlv]

12. The calls, especially the "Medicare" calls

got so bad here at our house, that I finally just unplugged the phone. I really want to kill this line, anyway, but hubby is loathe to get rid of it. It's a VOIP, and the numbers that show up on the TV as calling really throw him. He has a bit of trouble understanding how all this works, so unplugging and just watching the screen was the best of a bad situation.

I started taking notice that the calls start here a little after 8am. For Pete's Sake, they're calling retired people... and they expect us to be awake at that time? (LOL)

I've given my cell phone number to those people I need to talk to when they call... places like the nursing home where my Mom lives, my primary care doc, etc. Sometimes (especially my doc) calls early in the AM, but at least I can get a message and call them back at my own leisure.

Hubby almost gave away the bank a couple of weeks ago. This one was a life insurance call. The call center doesn't want to give up, they knew they had a live one with him. They called back several times a day for days in a row. Really P'O'd me. That was what had me unplugging the phone. When hubs almost gave them our routing number I hit the roof.

I almost got roped in on a non-existent job a few months ago. Scared the hell out of me that *I* could get hoodwinked like that. They're too slick, especially for older people who are having trouble remembering what they're suppose to do that day, let alone try to outsmart these crooks.

Something really has to be done. We're on all the no-call lists, but that means nothing anymore. Those are worthless. I'm trying to get hubs to accept my attitude... that if they call OUR phone, they're inviting themselves into our home, and we don't want them there. Plus, a ringing phone doesn't mean you have to answer it. It's slow going. Especially when he's feeling frisky and wants to jack with them. I keep telling him he's just playing around with a recording and pressing any buttons, etc., is setting us up. (sigh)

He's 72. I'm 67. I get scared a lot about what happens when MY memory and intelligence level starts leaving me like his has. We'll be left with nothing, and we ain't got that much to lose in the first place!!!!

AFAIC, these are criminal acts, and should be treated as such. Why something can't be done with all the tech we've got, it just infuriates me. Why should the older you get mean the less protection you have against criminals of any and all types?! ARGH!

[usedtobedemgurl]

20. What I do when anyone calls, that I don't know,

Is to tell them I have a brain injury, and I just take people’s information and pass it onto my lawyers. Most of the calls I get, hang up when I say that.

In my case, it is kind of true. I have a TBI - traumatic brain injury. I just don’t reroute calls through my lawyer.

At any rate; if you get used to saying this, because you have to pick up the phone, it may serve you well.

[Grey]

15. This is the reason I

bought a phone with a "block" button. I answer the call and if it is "one of those" I can block the number and they get a message saying "this number is blocked, you may as well hang up". I think it is funny that the recording is so polite.

[cyclonefence]

21. Be careful

I have a call-blocker, too, just like you describe. The problem is, the numbers they use are not the number they're calling from. Try calling them back--"that number is not in service" etc. BUT sometimes they use a number, whether by random or because they have access to your calls list, that really belongs to someone you want to hear from.

My breast surgeon was trying and trying to reach me--hers was a number that had been blocked because a scam call came through using that number--and finally called my husband to give me an important message.

The number they appear to be calling from is bogus: they are not at that number, but it's possible that someone you want to hear from has the number you're blocking.

[DFW]

16. I'm sure I'm getting them, too.

I don't pick up if I don't recognize the number. They don't leave messages, which is just as well, as I'd never call them back. We get telemarketing calls in Germany, too, but if I don't know the number there, I just answer in French, keep speaking French until they hang up.

[keithbvadu2]

17. Answer in such a way that you get a live person.

When you have spare time to kill....
(Entertainment value only)
-----------------------------

How to answer spam phone calls...

Keep asking: What is your name?
... until you get an answer.

What is your company/org name?
... until you get an answer.

What is your company/org address?
... until you get an answer.

What is your company/org phone number?
... until you get an answer.

What number can I get in contact with you?
... until you get an answer.

So what if they lie?
You're just going to hang up on them anyway.
Even better if you say 'sorry, not interested'.
.
Their time is also important to them.

[cyclonefence]

22. OR you can say, "Let me get my husband/wife"

and leave the phone off the hook while you go about your daily life. You're wasting *their* time, not yours.

Sometimes I tell them I'm dying and can't get insurance--this doesn't always deter them, and one time a very sweet lady asked if she could pray for me.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. I am getting a dozen or so of these calls a day

I have a landline and caller id identifies the calls as fraud/spam

[Ron Green]

19. It is NOT MEDICARE who's calling you, as you probably know.

These are private insurance companies who’ve been allowed by our bought Congress to hijack the name “Medicare” in their marketing scheme.

[Ilsa]

23. The calls to me have finally stopped.

You have recently turned 64.

[area51]

24. If only we had

universal healthcare.