There has been a steep rise in fraudulent robocalls targeting patients on a local, regional, and national scale. Perpetrators are calling from what look like local phone numbers, claiming to be from a healthcare provider. The scam callers use stolen and readily available information from the internet and social media to convince victims of their legitimacy. These scam calls usually ask for credit card numbers, social security numbers and other personal information from patients and their family members. Unsolicited robocalls are illegal, and Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital is providing this information to help its patients and community defend against fraudulent scam calls.

Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital will generally only ask for personal information, such as a patient’s name, date of birth, address, and insurance, in the following situations:

(1) For pre-registration of a patient for an appointment or inpatient hospitalization at Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital; or

(2) As part of a call regarding a bill for services received at Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital.

1. Pre-registration or appointment calls from Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital will include specific knowledge (date, time, type of service and location). Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital may ask screening security questions about a patient’s name, date of birth and address, to confirm the patient’s identity. Patients should keep in mind that one difference between a Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital legitimate call and a fraudulent scam call is scammers should not be able to articulate details regarding a service or appointment, whereas a representative of Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital will have specific information about the patient’s scheduled procedure or appointment, and history of services.
2. Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital’s billing department or collection agencies calling on its behalf will always be able to confirm the location and date(s) of service(s) a patient received for the bill in question. Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital‘s billing department may also ask for name, date of birth and address to confirm a patient’s identity. A scam caller will not likely be able to supply details on their false claim, so you are encouraged to ask questions of callers who claim to be from Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital. If you are uncertain about whether a call is legitimate, please do not share your personal or financial information with the caller.

Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital does conduct patient experience surveys via telephone; however, Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital only asks about the patient’s care and treatment while an inpatient. At no time is personal information requested during these surveys.

If you receive a call claiming to be from Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital and the caller cannot confirm accurately the service you are being charged for, or provide details on the services you’ve received, the call is likely a scam and you should hang up immediately.

Here are some tips to reduce your risk of getting scammed:

1. Ask for details about the bill or service without supplying specific information that scammers can use. When was the appointment? With whom?
2. Ask for a phone number you can call back to confirm the request is legitimate and from Ernest Health. Hang up and call back.
3. Add your phone number to the National Do Not Call List.
4. Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital will never ask for your full social security number over the phone – at most we may request confirmation of the last four digits. If a caller requests your full social security number over the phone, it may be a scam call.

Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital takes patient privacy and cyber security very seriously and works constantly to ensure your personal and medical information is safe and secure.

If you suspect you have been called by a spammer you can call Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital‘s Compliance line at 1-833-202-5101, and you can report the call to the following agencies:

• The Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant online or at 1-888-382-1222.