To qualify for Medicaid, you must have limited income and assets (in most states, no more than $2,000 in your name). If you have more than that, you may find yourself having to "spend down" your extra assets to meet the $2,000 limit.
Tax Season Results in Increased Telephone Scam Calls to Seniors
With only one week remaining until this year’s tax filing deadline, the Senate Special Committee on Aging has announced that the Committee’s fraud hotline is experiencing an increased number of reports of scam artists who call seniors pretending to be IRS officials. Through this scam criminals generally demand immediate payment and threaten retaliation, such as home foreclosure and even arrest, if payment is not made.
The IRS has released several tips to help taxpayers identify suspicious calls that may be part of a scam:
- The IRS will never call a taxpayer to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed a bill.
- The IRS will never demand that a taxpayer pay taxes without giving him or her the opportunity to question or appeal the amount claimed to be owed.
- The IRS will never ask for a credit or debit card number over the phone.
- The IRS will never threaten to bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have a taxpayer arrested for not paying.
- The IRS will never require a taxpayer to use a specific payment method for taxes, such as a prepaid debit card
If you are concerned that you, or a loved one, has been a victim of such a call or other related contact, please report the incident to the Aging Committee’s toll-free Senior Fraud Hotline: 1-855-303-9470. These reports enable the Committee to investigate and help put a stop to scams targeted to seniors.
In addition to calling the Aging Committee Fraud Hotline, seniors can report potential instances of scams or fraud to the local division (Detroit) of the FBI or the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
