The donut hole requires Medicare Part D recipients to pay out of pocket on prescriptions above a certain yearly total and denies benefits until another plateau is reached (in 2010, a $3,610 gap). The Affordable Care Act, part of the healthcare overhaul signed into law this past spring, provides Medicare beneficiaries with a one-time $250 rebate check when they enter the donut hole during 2010.

This has prompted a letter from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and Attorney General Eric Holder to all state attorneys general, asking them to participate in an educational outreach to help safeguard seniors from identity and data theft scams that capitalize on interest in the Medicare rebate checks.

“We are heading into the week when our first tax-free $250 donut hole rebate checks will be mailed out to Medicare beneficiaries who have fallen into the coverage gap”, the two said in the letter. “Accordingly, we are especially concerned about fraud and increased activity by criminals seeking to defraud seniors – and we are seeking your help to stop it.”

The HHS has established a fraud alert website for the Affordable Care Act that outlines several scams that have already been reported. Among these are scammers who contacted seniors looking to ‘confirm’ personal data in order to receive the check, including Medicare ID numbers, Social Security numbers, and all manner of personal data.

HHS says that Medicare recipients are not required to sign up for additional programs and warns beneficiaries against sharing personal information with anyone claiming to be a Medicare representative. The agency says that checks will be mailed out automatically once the Medicare recipient has reached the ‘donut hole’ in prescription coverage.