Medicare 2026

Free' Glucose Monitors and Diabetic Supplies: How to Spot the Medicare Scam Calls

If you have Medicare, you have probably gotten a call — maybe several — offering a "free" glucose meter, test strips, a back brace, or a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). The voice on the other end may say they're from Medicare, from a diabetes association, or from "your doctor's office." They aren't. And the supplies they're promising aren't really free: they're billed to Medicare in your name, sometimes for items you never asked for and never receive.

Here's how these calls work, what the rules actually say, and what to do if one lands on your phone.

What the scam sounds like

In a fraud alert first released March 13, 2012 and still posted today, the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) warned that callers pretend to be from the government, Medicare, or a diabetes association and offer "free" supplies — glucose meters, test strips, lancets — in exchange for your Medicare number or financial information. The same callers sometimes pivot to other items: heating pads, lift seats, foot orthotics, joint braces.

HHS-OIG is blunt about two things. First, those calls are not coming from Medicare or from any diabetes association. Second, even though the caller says the items are free, the supplies are billed to Medicare.

More recently, in a September 2026 fraud spotlight, CMS flagged a related pattern with continuous glucose monitors: some suppliers have billed Medicare for CGMs that were never provided — often without the beneficiary's knowledge or consent — and some have received kickbacks to bill for monitors for people who don't even have a history of diabetes.

The scale is meaningful. According to that CMS spotlight, glucose monitors had an improper payment rate of 17.3% in 2025, with projected improper payments of over $203 million. CMS is careful to note that an improper payment rate is not a fraud rate — it includes documentation errors, too — but it signals how much money is going out the door incorrectly in this one category.

What Medicare actually covers

Part B may cover a continuous glucose monitor and related supplies when:

• a doctor or other health care provider evaluates you and orders it,
• you take insulin or have a history of problems with low blood sugar, and
• you (or a caregiver) have been trained to use it.

After you meet the Part B deductible, you generally pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. That's the real pathway: a clinician who knows your history writes the order. It doesn't start with a stranger's phone call.

The rule telemarketers are breaking

Federal supplier standards limit when a Medicare equipment supplier may even call you about a covered item. A supplier may contact you only if one of three things is true:

1. you gave written permission to be called, 2. the call is to coordinate delivery of an item already furnished, or 3. the supplier has furnished you a covered item in the previous 15 months.

A cold call offering "free" strips or a CGM to someone who hasn't given written permission and isn't an existing customer doesn't fit any of those boxes. That alone is a red flag strong enough to hang up on.

How to protect yourself

A few simple habits will catch most of this:

• Never give your Medicare number, Social Security number, or bank or card information to anyone who called you. If you didn't dial them, assume they haven't earned that trust.
• Hang up on "free" offers tied to Medicare. Items offered this way aren't free — they're billed to Medicare, and sometimes to you later as cost sharing.
• Read your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN). HHS-OIG specifically advises checking it for items you did not order or receive, and for supplies — meters, test strips, lancets — billed multiple times.
• Refuse unordered deliveries. You are under no obligation to accept items you didn't order. Refuse the delivery or return it to the sender, and keep a record of the sender's name and the date you sent it back.
• Report the call. HHS-OIG asks you to report the calling company's name, phone number, and address, plus a brief summary of the call, to 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

If something was billed in your name that you didn't receive, that's worth a call to 1-800-MEDICARE as well.

A quick word on coverage choices (and why scammers exploit them)

Scam callers often try to rush you by implying your coverage is about to lapse or that you must "verify" your plan. It isn't, and you don't. Two things worth knowing calmly:

• Annual Enrollment runs October 15 – December 7, 2026, with choices taking effect January 1, 2027. That's the normal window for most people to review Part D and Medicare Advantage options.
• If you have Medicaid or Extra Help, since 2025 you have a monthly Special Enrollment Period to move to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan, or to switch stand-alone Part D plans. Full-benefit dual-eligible individuals may join an integrated D-SNP in any month.

A few other confirmed national numbers to keep in mind: the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026), and no Part D plan may charge a deductible higher than $700 in 2027. The Part D base beneficiary premium used to calculate the late-enrollment penalty is $41.33 for 2027; actual plan premiums are set plan by plan. Social Security announced a 3.6% COLA on October 14, 2026 for benefits payable beginning January 2027. The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced — CMS releases those in the fall, usually November.

Whether Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare paired with a Medigap policy fits you better is a personal decision with real trade-offs on each side (network rules, extra benefits, and cost-sharing structures differ). This article doesn't rank plans or steer you — it just helps you avoid the people trying to steer you dishonestly.

Where to go next

For accurate, current information, go to Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). To report a suspected scam call or suspicious billing, call 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Trust those numbers — not the one that called you.