Does anyone with CKD have any experience with Circle of Care phone calls? They say they are part of my drs medical group, but they arent.

[chicablue]

My husband thinks it's a scam. They said my dr signed me up, my drs ofc say they never heard of them. I told them to quit calling me. They said they are a medicare program and the only way I can get out of it is to quit Medicare. Say what, that sounds like communism.

[jodaer]

I googled them and then did a search on Medicare web site and I couldn't find anything. I think your husband is right. Scam. Are you on Medicare? If so, I would report them. If they are calling you on the phone, don't answer and/or block them.

[chicablue in reply to jodaer]

My Dr's ofc said they never heard of it, but they are a new ofc. I also called the main ofc and they wouldn't commit to knowing anything about it, but said they'd tell the manager, who never called me back. If they didnt give out my info, they must if gotten hacked.

[drmind in reply to chicablue]

Someone from your doctors office staff probably gave them your information. A year or so ago. I was contacted by a group who wanted to get me all kinds of "free" supplies that I was allegedly entitled to from Medicare. I never got to the bottom of it, but they did a good job making me think my doctors office was involved. They weren't. They even sent me some official like papers asking me to confirm my Medicare status. When i told this group, I wanted to check with Medicare directly and didn't think I needed their service, they stopped bothering me.

At the time, I was ill from a bad and very lengthy strep throat infection and never followed up with Medicare. Sorry, I didn't.

[barbara55109 in reply to drmind]

It is highly unlikely you Dr office did anything. It is illegal for your Dr to share your information in this way. They call anyone they think is over 65 or has a condition. My husband and I got on Medicare fraudsters radar after going to a diabetes expo. Just Google your name. People can easily discover you are over 65 and then assume you have medicare.

[drmind in reply to barbara55109]

it was determined that an office woman in my doctors office gave/sold the names of patients who was in stage 4 and under to this company. She was terminated and a whole new office crew were brought in.

[chicablue in reply to drmind]

I think I know what happened. I called a new DR ofc to make a first appointment. Somehow that # got ghosted, or taken over by a scammer, which I didnt realise at first. A man said before they could give me an appointment they needed to verify my Id and insurance. Had to give my date of birth, address phone, etc. And that I had medicare. Then started asking more questions and I demanded they connect me to the # I had called. To which they replied I didnt understand their procedure, blah blah blah. I knew I was being scammed and hung up. This is probably where that Circle of Care scam got my info, from me trusting the number I had called to be legit! Now you cant even trust phone calls that you place yourself. That's how bad its getting!

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Seniors are the biggest target now for scammers. Scream, blow a horn, or whatever you can to discourage them from calling again. They are a scam. Don't quit Medicare. You paid for it all your working life.

[chicablue in reply to Bassetmommer]

It's really scary. They also contacted me by mail and email. Even put my Drs name on it.

What worries me is I'm over 75 and had asked my dr's office for a referral to a neurologist for short term memory loss. Did I somehow put my name out there for some kind of government over reach? The paperwork said they have case workers, a renal dietitian, free transportation, sounds like welfare program, for which I am not eligible. They said it was a program to help keep CKD patients off dialysis. I figured if there was a government program like that, you'd know about it.

[drmind in reply to chicablue]

This sounds like the same group thst tried to get me involved. Report them as soon as possible to Medicare.

[barbara55109 in reply to chicablue]

Sounds like a medicare advantage plan trying to get you to sign up. It is medicare part c.

[jodaer]

Pretty sure it's not a government program. It might be one of those Medicare Advantage plans but they are all rip offs.

[PecanSandie in reply to jodaer]

I have Medicare Advantage (Part C) with Aetna and I LOVE it.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

I did a Google and actually came up with something. There are a couple of them. A couple of them are homecare organizations and the other is affiliated with a hospital. I have put the link below. The fact that they say they are connected to your doctor, but you said your doctor is not, is very telling. Bottom line, no one should tell you to not use Medicare. End stage renal care if paid for by Medicare. Don't lose that benefit.

northwell.edu/geriatric-pal...

BTW, I see you are stage 5 and holding. How are you feeling. I am also stage 5 and holding. Just had labs today and everything is the same for now 8 months. Actually, had an improvement in hemocrit and hemoglobin. Whahoo. Its like dialysis is a lion behind a gate waiting for me and I am holding it off. I hope you are too.

[chicablue in reply to Bassetmommer]

Bless you! I am feeling pretty good considering my last GFR was 10. My chief complaint is being sleep deprived due to getting up every 2 hours to use the toilet. I think that is why I have "brain fog". I also have the variant for Alzheimers, but that didnt hit my Mom til she was 84. A Dr told me they have new drugs that help prevent the Alzheimer's that is safe for kidneys. I have trouble forgetting vocabulary when I am speaking. After that, my biggest problem is my diet. I just cant go veggan, or drink alot of fluid, I have seen some improvement after drinking the baking soda water. My attitude would probably be much better if I hadn't put up with being disabled for 28 years. Having only one good finger to work with gets pathetic after awhile! I wish you good luck with the transplant.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to chicablue]

oh my, you have a great attitude with all that is going on. I am not going to get a transplant. I have to lose weight, which I cannot move the last 20 pounds needed and I need to have an angiogram, which will destroy what ever kidney function I have left.

Take care.

[chicablue in reply to Bassetmommer]

so you are gonna refuse that angiogram, right? WOw, do they require that for transplant? Now I am really worried for you. I'd love to lose 20 lbs also. Since they preached to me dietwise, low protein, sodium and fat, I've been living on carbs for 28 years, so I'm 149 lbs, and 20 lbs overweight. The link you sent me is based in NY, and almost sounds like hospice! My husb says the dr wouldnt sign me up for that without discussing it first.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to chicablue]

I went through all the testing for transplant and they did a heart test and found an anomally..... so no transplant until they figure out what is going on. AND I lose 20 pounds. Supposedly I am on a long extended waitlist for surgery for FAT people. No discrimination there, right?

[chicablue in reply to Bassetmommer]

You mean that gastro procedure where they reduce your stomach capacity? I'd be afraid of what they use to put you to sleep for that damaging the kidneys too. Seems everything's a vicious circle. I'm afraid the low protein diet for years has affected my heart and brain. What's good for the kidneys not so good for the rest of the body. Right now fighting with b/p drugs, cant find one without side effects. the amlodipine ddnt work. Am now on Clonidine., which causes dry mouth and changes the taste of food.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to chicablue]

no an angiogram is where they send give you contrast to see how your arteries and heart work. The contrast would kill my kidneys. I too found doing total plant based not good so now I have modified it to add chicken once in awhile and eggs once a week.

[barbara55109 in reply to chicablue]

A weight of 149 will not keep you off the transplant list. It must be other conditions.

[barbara55109]

The leading source of medicare fraud is durable medical providers. They get people to confirm they are on Medicare and bill medicare for supplies you don't need and never get. I am not on Medicare and get calls all the time. So does my husband. I think we got on their lists when we went to a diabetes expo 15 years ago. It isn't the government or medicare calling you. There are thousands of these fraudsters out there. The government tried to find and convict them of fraud but it is very difficult. Just hang up. Do not engage with them.

[Darlenia]

After researching for a while, it appears that Circle of Care functions in the mental health field navigating and smoothing the path between patients/caregivers and their needs - for elder care, end of life issues, chronic health matters, and so on. I can see merit in that - it does take a heavy mental toll on everyone, including caregivers, navigating the US healthcare system. There have many a number of instances where I wondered about my next steps - how can I get past being overwhelmed, where do I go to get services for my hubby, etc. I've often thought an "ombudsman" to work directly with me and other medical providers would be wonderful. Anyway, for those using their services, Circle Of Care Services states that it coordinates billing with many payor sources, including Medicare, Medicaid, Workers Comp, insurance plans and more. They also accept personal payment for services. I'd definitely check with Medicare and other insurers, though, to see if they're legitimate in your area and if their services are indeed covered. I'd like to add that no one should be pressuring anyone to accept their services. That's a big no and huge turnoff. Here's a link which describes their work. circleofcareinc.com/faqs/#:....

[chicablue in reply to Darlenia]

I'm in TX and they are in NM, they are robocalls misrepresenting themselves as my Dr. Must be a scam in this situation.

[Darlenia in reply to chicablue]

Yeah...I noticed they are in a number of states, including Texas. They're actually headquartered in San Antonio. Maybe they have a call center in New Mexico. You'll probably get more calls unless you block them.

[chicablue in reply to Darlenia]

I also did google Circle of Care here in this area. The only one in San Antonio is for children who need speech theraphy.

[Darlenia in reply to chicablue]

Yeah...they seem to have their fingers in a number of pots. Just be careful. I personally have problems with pushy organizations. They can be like parasites!

[chicablue in reply to Darlenia]

They threatened to keep calling unless I got out of Medicare. No legit company would do that! They were told it's illegal to keep calling a # once you've been told to stop!

[drmind]

Please report them to Medicare. I'm so sorry that I didn't, but I was suffering from a terrible infection for about 6 to 8 weeks and couldn't do it. While they were calling me and attempting to send me all this stuff, they scared the "bejesus" out of me because it was material for patients who were worst off than I was at the time. And, they kept replying that my doctor ordered these items. It upset me at the time because I had an excellent doctor who was kind and caring and very helpful and I couldn't understand why he had never discussed this with me. When I finally had a visit with him, he said he knew absolutely nothing about this company and he was sure that the office did not refer them. This scam company was very slick. Be careful out there.

[horsie63]

I wonder if they got peoples information for a medical hack or the GoodRX lssue and that’s how they know so much.