Is there a "2024 Spending Allowance Card" being given to people over age 64 if they fill out an eligibility questionnaire? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a card, preloaded with funds, exists. Lead Stories has written fact checks about several false claims of similar cards.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on January 6, 2024. The caption of the post read:
I'm really THANKFUL to my friends who showed me this!
They told me I could qualify for the new 2024 Spending Allowance Card which I used to get a head start this year. All because I'm over 64!
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Jan 9 15:28:51 2024 UTC)
The post included a video implying that receiving the purported "2024 Spending Allowance Card" only required clicking on a link and following instructions to check for eligibility. The video mostly showed mail that discussed a "UCard." Lead Stories searched for such a card and found that it is a member card (archived here) for UnitedHealthcare members that allows them to utilize their Medicare Advantage benefits. Still, none of these features are the same as receiving a "Spending Allowance."
Lead Stories reached out to UnitedHeathcare regarding the claim. In an email sent to Lead Stories on January 9, 2024, Heather Soule, a media representative for UnitedHealthcare (archived here), directed us to a press release about the 2024 UCard (archived here). We did not find any information in the press release corroborating the claim made in the post on Facebook.
In the video used in the post on Facebook, there is also a shot of a person receiving what is labeled as a "2024 Spending Allowance Card." However, Lead Stories found no evidence (archived here) from a Google search that such a card is real.
The link attached to the post on Facebook leads users to this website (archived here). The website does not prove that the card is real and seems to be a scheme to collect information about a potential applicant for the card. No matter whether a user clicks "Yes" or "No" on the questionnaire asking "Are you on Medicare Parts A & B?", the website leads to a page (archived here) stating:
CONGRATULATIONS!
Secure your Healthcare coverage today Simply enter your information below and one of our agents will contact you
While neither the caption of the post on Facebook nor the video in the post mention that the supposed card is funded by the federal government, Lead Stories has debunked several claims about benefits cards that do make that claim or imply it. Those fact checks can be found here.
