Genetic Test Scam Targets Medicare Recipients, Inspector Says (1)

Medicare beneficiaries are at risk from a scam involving free genetic testing, according to a government alert released June 3.

The genetic testing kits are being offered to beneficiaries free of charge in return for their Medicare number, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General fraud alert said. The Medicare numbers are used to commit identity theft or fraudulent billing, the alert said.

The OIG last released a fraud alert in early April regarding a fraudulent back brace scheme and before that hadn’t released one since 2017.

Certain genetic tests are reasonable and necessary for treating diseases, but ...