Medicare open enrollment began October 15, and Michigan regulators are already warning that scammers are working it by phone, at the front door and through the mail. The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the state health department say the federal Medicare agency will never call or send someone to a person’s home. The warning covers the whole enrollment period, which runs through December 7.
The advice applies well beyond Michigan, because the same tactics turn up in every state while people are choosing plans. The Federal Trade Commission put out its own alert a few weeks earlier, listed on its consumer alerts page, about fake websites and paid search ads.
That puts one question in front of every older household right now: is a call about a plan real? The test is who reached out. Medicare.gov says Medicare will never call to sell anything or visit a home, and that it calls to ask for personal information only in limited cases, such as an agent returning a call after a person joined a plan, reported fraud or left a message. If the contact was unexpected, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE, at 800-633-4227.
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What Michigan’s insurance and health departments are warning about
A joint release from the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, dated October 12, lays out the open enrollment period as October 15 through December 7, 2026. It says that stretch “opens the door for bad actors,” in the words of DIFS Director Anita Fox.
The release describes unsolicited calls from people who claim to be with Medicare, and unsolicited visitors who ask for personal information or a Medicare number. It also describes postcards that claim to be from Medicare or to be Medicare-authorized, and notes that mailings built to look like government letters often come from private companies, with the disclaimer in small print.
Caller ID is no proof either. The release says scammers can make a call appear to come from a legitimate business or agency, so a familiar name on the screen does not mean Medicare is on the line. The state’s rule is simple: anyone who contacts a person unexpectedly by phone, mail, online or in person should get no personal information.
The false claim about Part D
One lie in the release deserves special attention. Callers and mailers sometimes tell people they must join a prescription drug plan or lose their Medicare coverage. The Michigan release says that is wrong: the Part D prescription drug plan is voluntary.
The release also warns about sales agents and brokers who cross a line. Under its description, an agent or broker cannot claim to be from Medicare, say a plan is Medicare-approved or endorsed, say they call on Medicare’s behalf, or say that Medicare or a government agency asked them to make contact. A Medicare ID number is only needed when a person actually enrolls in a plan, and plan information can be had without it.
What the FTC adds about look-alike websites and search ads
The Federal Trade Commission’s consumer alert from September 28 covers the online side. It says scammers and dishonest businesses sometimes pay to appear at the top of search results, and that bad actors often use web addresses that look similar to government site addresses.
The FTC’s advice is to look for a .gov ending and to check for “Ad” or “Sponsored” labels. It warns that people can end up paying for a plan that is not health insurance. For Medicare questions the agency points to Medicare.gov or 800-633-4227, and for Marketplace coverage to HealthCare.gov or 800-318-2596.
The same FTC alert names two kinds of free local help: the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known as SHIP, and a local Senior Medicare Patrol. Reports of suspected scams can go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Medicare.gov also points to the HHS Office of Inspector General for online fraud reports, and to 877-772-3379 for people with a Medicare drug plan.
Michigan numbers worth writing down
The Michigan release lists several lines for residents. MI Options, the state’s counseling program, can be reached at 800-803-7174 for help with plan choices. The Michigan Senior Medicare Patrol takes scam reports and questions at 844-677-6424.
The state attorney general’s Consumer Protection Team is at 517-335-7599, and DIFS takes complaints at 877-999-6442 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone outside Michigan can use the national numbers above, since every state has a SHIP and a Senior Medicare Patrol.
A real call or a scam during open enrollment?
The pattern across both the Michigan release and the FTC alert is consistent. The contact that arrives unasked, whether a call, a knock at the door, a postcard or a search ad, is the one to treat with suspicion. The contact the person starts, through Medicare.gov, 800-633-4227 or a SHIP counselor, is the one to trust.
Open enrollment runs until December 7, so the calls and mailers will keep coming for weeks. A household that decides in advance what it will and will not share is in a better spot than one deciding with a stranger on the line.
Was that open enrollment call real?
The cost of one wrong answer on the phone can run past a bad plan. A Medicare number given to a scammer can lead to medical identity theft, and the FTC warns that a look-alike site can sell a plan that is not health insurance at all.
The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit helps spot current scams and check who is really calling, and it includes the free credit-freeze steps for the case where information has already gone out. Its Part 1, “The First-Hour Clock,” lays out what to do in the first hour after a scam call.
Get the scam-call checklist and credit-freeze steps for Medicare open enrollment →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
