Sushi has pretty much summarized the dangers ahead. There is no way to truly screen her calls other than you or your cousin being with her 24 hours a day. Allowing her the freedom of answering her phone, puts her at risk -- for physical, financial, and emotional harm. I'm also a "been there, done that." My mom used to think she was outsmarting telemarketers by telling them that she was a widow and in ill health, so she couldn't afford to buy their products. Some of the callers had her name and some address info. I'd tell her over and over again that she was saying too much and that the callers could come to the house. She'd promise to do better, but the next time I'd see her, she'd proudly relate how she told off a telemarketer. Eventually she moved to an assisted living facility and the situation was better. The address change in addition to the phone number change lessened the frequency of calls. When she moved into the memory care wing, her phone did not move with her. As far as doctors, etc., do what sushi recommends. Make yourself or your cousin the contact person. That's what I did with my mom even before she moved to assisted living. Perhaps you could "train" your mom to always defer to either you or your cousin when answering questions over the phone. For example, "I'm sorry. You need to talk to my daughter/niece about this. She takes care of everything for me." There's always the possibility of changing her phone number to a new and unlisted number.

Have you tried to comprehend the Medicare pharmacy "benefit"? In doing so, did you come across any conceivable way in which it's not a complete gimmee to the big healthcare companies? My mom's union insurance is not allowed to cover the 'donut hole' gap. Say what? All the propaganda about the primacy of private insurance, and then when you have it, they're not allowed to pay?? Bollocks. However inconvenient, annoying, or occasionally incompetent the healthcare system may be in countries where the govt takes care of it, it CANNOT BE WORSE than this moronic 'system' we have where poor people simply have to go without, and the F-ing president says airily, "oh, they can just go to the emergency room." As if there are still any emergency rooms left in poor neighborhoods, since they've been overburdened for years with people who need care but can't pay. And as if this very practice hasn't ended up increasing the cost of all health care and insurance, as the hospitals have to raise their other prices to try to make up for the shortfall (you don't think that Tylenol really should cost $12/pill, do you?) As one of the gainfully employed Americans whose employer carries health insurance, I'm part of the "system that works." I've seen the cost of premiums on my end go up anywhere from 5-12%/year (raises average 3%). Add to that increases in co-pays and exclusions, and it's well into double digits. Between my payments and my employer's the premiums (as of before the last increase) for 2 non-smoking adults with no chronic conditions to speak of (no diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc) are well over $6,000/year. And if you further add in the hassle cost (which Jim Jubak of MSN Money has done in several of his columns on various topics) of trying to keep up with a drug formulary that changes monthly, so your refills are suddenly disallowed, or arcane rules for coverage that are never fully disclosed, or phone calls 3 years on about whether the doctor was on the 'allowed' list or not....it's enuf to make you simply give up and quit trying. That's where I am now. I've already sent them one letter; it was after that that they called. At work. I refused to give my unlisted home number. I don't think there's any way for me to prove they were participating at that time. Not only has my company changed insurers multiple times since then, it's been bought and sold. So, who would have any records? And do I feel up to trying to traack them down? I'm already having enuf trouble trying to get my pension out of their hot little hands. OK, /rant. Thanks for the advice and the message board link. I'll try that out.

azzalea-a different dept.(not billing)handled cancelling the checks so I did receive the bill. Since I didn't request them and they can be cashed if misplaced/stolen I just don't think they should send them unless I call to ask for them. The less junk mail the better, especially this kind. Stating that you will not be responsible will not prevent the CC from claiming that you cashed them. No one wants to spend time on the phone/writing letters to clear that up. I just state the truth also... If you opted out which I did many many years ago, your CC can still send you solicitations/offers. Well anyhow I hope this info about stopping these checks benefits someone. Oh and I have been receiving many phone calls to switch electric companies, I told the girl I now have solar :)

I "googled" your question and found this. It looks like SSA was making a verification request to establish your identity in order to establish your SSA website account (see paragraphs three and four below) and does not affect your credit score (see last paragraph). The Social Security Administration provides an “Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement” for all workers age 25 or older. The statement provides you with a history of your earnings and projected benefits. The SSA stopped mailing statements a few years ago, but you can obtain your Social Security Statement online at www.socialsecurity.gov. The online statement provides eligible workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefits information. The online statement provides estimates for retirement, disability and survivor’s benefits, making the statement an important financial planning tool. In addition, the portal includes links to information about other online services, such as, applications for retirement, disability, and Medicare. When you sign up on the SSA website, they carefully verify that you are who you say you are. They ask you to provide several different types of information and to answer questions that only you should be able to answer. They may also use an identity verification service provided by Experian to help verify your identity and protect your privacy when you register to do business with them online. When the SSA makes a verification request to establish your account, Experian may use information from your credit report to help verify your identity. As a result, you may see an entry called a "soft inquiry" on your Experian credit report. This will show an inquiry by the Social Security Administration and the date of the request. Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score, and you do not incur any charges related to them. Soft inquiries are displayed in the version of the credit profile viewable only to consumers and are not reported to lenders. The soft inquiry should not appear on your credit report from Equifax or TransUnion, and will generally be removed from your Experian credit report after 25 months.