Candyce Gravitte, operations manager for the Person County Council on Aging’s Senior Center, said Friday that a couple of groups of people are going door to door trying to sell seniors what Graviite called  “bad insurance.”

Gravitte said the groups are “talking [seniors] into giving up their current insurance for the one they are selling.” 

The people are claiming falsely to be from the Social Security Administration or representatives from Medicare, Gravitte said.

 “The names of the groups we know of are Ever Care and Banker's Casualty and Life,” said Gravitte, adding that the companies “are not affiliated with Medicare or Social Security. 

“We have had seniors calling us asking about these people,” she said.  “Also, local pharmacies are having trouble running the insurance once it is bought, and it is costing the people who bought it a lot of money.”

Person County Social Services Director Beverly Warren said this scam was not a new one and that it pops up from time to time.

She said she had heard of Ever Care schemes and also cited Medicare Complete and Medicare Horizons as other questionable insurance companies that have targeted seniors in the past.

Bess Hester-Whitt, family and consumer education agent with the Person County Cooperative Extension Service office, said that, whether it was insurance or any other product, seniors should “deal with local people only and they will be dealing with reputable folks.”

Warren cautioned that seniors should never let anyone they don’t know and trust into their homes. She said they should never purchase any products from or sign any papers for anyone they do not know and trust. She also advised seniors to have someone they know and trust take a look at the products and information before they sign anything.

When these insurance companies sell their products to seniors, Warren said, it is “real difficult to get benefits” when they have a claim, and seniors don’t know that “until they try to use” the products.

Warren added that, once these insurance products are purchased, “it is real hard to get back into Medicaid or Medicare” after the consumers discover that the other insurance won’t benefit them.

Before they sign or purchase anything, seniors should call a trusted friend or family member, the Senior Center or their case worker at DSS if they have one, Warren advised.

“Bottom line,” said Hester-Whitt, “if you don’t know who you’re talking to,” don’t buy anything from them or sign any papers.

Seniors or others with questions about insurance programs or Medicare supplements may contact the state Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) which answers questions and counsels Medicare beneficiaries and caregivers about Medicare, Medicare supplements, Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug plans, long-term care insurance and other health insurance concerns. The toll free number to call is 1-800-443-9354 .Consumers may also call (919) 807-6900, which is a long-distance from Person  County.