Question: Do you know who is behind the mailing of a postcard saying “2013 Medicare Update”? Are they crooks or legitimate people? We received the unsolicited postcard that requested our name, birth date and phone number on one side. The other side had the return address: SD Reply Center, PO Box 2528, Rockwall TX 75087-9973. The card stated seniors need to understand how the president’s changes in our health care requirements under the Medicare reform guidelines will affect us. At the bottom of the card it says, “Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency.”
Answer: The emphatic warning from Medicare officials: Never give out personal information to someone you don’t know.
“Scammers are continually trying to collect such information to commit identity theft,” warned Jack Cheevers, spokesman for Region IX of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, based in San Francisco.
Cheevers did not have specific information about SD Reply Center, but said, “I certainly wouldn’t give them any of my personal information, and I’d urge Hawaii seniors not to, either.”
Personal information includes your name, date of birth and Social Security, Medicare or credit card numbers.
“Regarding the supposed ‘2013 Medicare Update,’ the federal government is not using postcards to collect the names and birth dates of Medicare beneficiaries,” Cheevers said. “We already have that information.”
He also warned not to give information over the Internet or to anyone who comes to your home uninvited, calls or sends you a postcard.
“Give personal information only to doctors or other Medicare-approved providers,” he said.
To check whether a provider is Medicare-approved, call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).
Q: I heard that Kanewai Park playground might not have a Summer Fun program this summer due to some construction. Can you shed some light on this matter or some information and a timeline?
A: Kanewai Community Park is expected to be shut down because of major renovations scheduled to start this summer.
The exact start date still has not been determined by the city Department of Design and Construction. If and when the park is closed, the alternate site for summer programming would be Crane Community Park, next to Kaimuki High School. Other Summer Fun programs nearby scheduled to be offered this summer are at Kaimuki Community Park and Manoa Valley District Park.
According to city records, the $1.6 million project entails mitigating “structural difficulties” at the park, notably cracking and collapsing retaining walls. Once started, the project would take about a year to complete.
MAHALO
To all those who came to my aid on Tuesday, Jan. 29, after I had the misfortune of suffering heat exhaustion on the last leg of my hike up Diamond Head.
I was unconscious for a good portion of the 40 minutes that I was lying at Stage No. 13 (the new descent stairway) and only remember bits and pieces of that time. I would like to thank all the people who offered their assistance, a towel, a fan or water. Thank you as well to my husband, friends and the couple from Ottawa who attended to me until rescue personnel were able to arrive. Many thanks to all the fire rescue personnel for their quick response and efficiency in stabilizing and removing me from Diamond Head as I was unable to descend on my own. Thank you to the paramedics who attended to me after I was airlifted to the ambulance. We sometimes take these professional women and men for granted until we are involved in a situation that requires their assistance. — Barb Sorensen, a very grateful Canadian tourist
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
