Scam Alert – Open Enrollment for Health Plans
Open enrollment for choosing health care plans begins October 15 for employees and retirees in the Federal sector and many private employers. Known to be a period when scammers are busier that normal, alerts have gone out from Federal, states, local agencies and advocates warning consumers to beware. Fraud and scams increases particularly aimed at for seniors on Medicare. Scammers become more sophisticated every year and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) advises how to recognize “spoofing,” in a new video, to help consumers avoid traps while sorting through health care options. Open enrollment also known as open season coincides this year with the expected end of the national Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19. Unless the PHE is extended, Medicaid enrollment at the state level is also set to begin, creating a new target for scammers. To improve public awareness on ways to defeat robocalls and other scam tactics, the FCC and seniors advocate AARP.org have launched public awareness campaigns in these user-friendly resources, FCC: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts and AARP: https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/coronavirus.html
published Sept 14, 2022
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CDC: 6 Things to Know
Who should get vaccinated against COVID-19? According to the CDC, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control: Everyone ages 6 months and older. The six things to know about vaccinations for children, the CDC guidance is here, released July 2022.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fair Housing Information
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Advisory from the US Surgeon General
Avoid Pitfalls of Misinformation
To be confident that information is fact-based and to prevent pitfalls of misinformation, always pause to check if the source is verifiable. Websites that end in .gov tell you the source is state-government, federal-government or local government. Information from these sources can be considered verified sources. An important advisory from the Office of the US Surgeon General laid out how to win the war against misinformation in it’s Confronting Health Misinformation published July 2021.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From Virginia Department of Health
In the fast changing public health emergency of COVID-19, the Virginia Department of Health frequently updates guidance for worried consumers. Visit vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-vaccine/ and follow important updates on vaccinations priorities.
Recent updates to the mobile app COVIDWISE by Virginia Health Department, is available on Google Play and App Store. COVIDWISE gives up-to-date insight guidance and how to identify hot spots. Download the COVID-WISE app from VHD
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~