Medicare 2026

Naples Medicare scams peak before Dec. 7 — the four calls to hang up on

NAPLES, Fla. — The phone starts ringing more this time of year, and not by accident. Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, and scammers know Southwest Florida retirees are fielding legitimate calls about 2027 coverage. That makes it easier to slip a fake one into the mix. The good news: the most common Naples-area pitches follow a short list of patterns, and once you know them, you can end the call in about five seconds.

Medicare 2027Naples, FL

Why Naples is a target this fall

Collier County has one of the highest shares of residents 65 and older in Florida, and seasonal snowbirds are arriving just as enrollment mailings hit. That combination — a large Medicare population plus a flood of legitimate advertising — is what fraud investigators call cover noise. It gives a caller a plausible reason to be phoning about "your Medicare."

The Senior Medicare Patrol, the federally funded program that tracks Medicare fraud, sees complaints climb every year between mid-October and early December. The pitches change slightly each season, but the goal is the same: get your Medicare number, your bank information, or a "yes" they can record.

The four scam calls to hang up on

1. "We're calling about your new 2027 Medicare card." There is no new card for 2027. Medicare has not reissued cards since the 2018–2019 rollout that removed Social Security numbers. Anyone offering a plastic, metal, or "chip" upgrade is fishing for your Medicare number.

2. "You qualify for extra benefits — groceries, gas, cash back." Some Medicare Advantage plans do include supplemental benefits, but Medicare itself does not cold-call to enroll you in them, and licensed agents are not allowed to call you out of the blue unless you asked them to. If you didn't request the call, it isn't compliant.

3. "This is Medicare. We need to verify your number." Medicare already has your number. The agency communicates by mail. It will not call, text, email, or show up at your door to confirm your ID, and it will not threaten to cancel your coverage if you don't answer.

4. "Free brace, test kit, or DNA screening — just give us your Medicare ID." Braces, genetic tests, and diabetic supplies are among the top billing-fraud schemes in Florida, according to SMP data. The item shows up (or doesn't), Medicare gets billed thousands, and your number is now on a list that gets resold.

What real 2027 changes actually look like

Scammers succeed partly because there are real changes each year, and confusion helps them. Here's what's actually true for 2027, straight from Medicare:

• Part D has a $2,400 out-of-pocket cap on covered prescriptions in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. You have to opt in through your plan.
• IRMAA surcharges for higher-income beneficiaries start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

None of these changes require you to "reactivate," "verify," or "reload" anything. If a caller says they do, that's your cue.

Simple habits that stop most fraud

• Treat your Medicare number like a credit card. Don't read it aloud to anyone who called you.
• Hang up and call back on a number you look up yourself — from your red, white, and blue Medicare card, from medicare.gov, or from a plan document you already have.
• Check your Medicare Summary Notice (or your MyMedicare.gov account) every few months for services or equipment you don't recognize.
• Don't click links in texts claiming to be from Medicare, Social Security, or your plan. Type the address in yourself.
• Write down suspicious calls — date, time, number, and what they asked for. SMP uses those details to spot new schemes.

Where Naples residents can get real help

• Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or medicare.gov
• Florida SHINE (the state's SHIP program for free, unbiased Medicare counseling): 1-800-963-5337
• Florida Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP): 1-866-357-6677 to report suspected fraud
• Collier County Sheriff's Office takes reports on fraud that has already cost you money

If you're unsure whether a call, letter, or door-knock was legitimate, none of these lines will pressure you or ask for payment. That alone is a useful contrast.