​

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new awards totaling $9 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs fight Medicare fraud.

SMPs rely on 5,000 volunteers nationwide to enhance their efforts.

“We’ve dedicated $9 million in grants this year on top of another $9 million last year to expand the state-based Senior Medicare Patrol Programs, which are vital to empower seniors to identify and fight fraud,” said Peter Budetti, CMS deputy administrator and director of the Center for Program Integrity.

The SMP program is operated by the Administration on Aging (AoA) in partnership with CMS and the HHS Office of Inspector General.

The 2011 grants will provide additional funds for SMPs to increase awareness among Medicare beneficiaries about how to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud. Increased funding levels for states identified with high-fraud areas will support additional targeted strategies for collaboration, media outreach, and referrals. AoA will continue to administer these grants in partnership with CMS.

SMP volunteers work in their communities to educate Medicare beneficiaries, family members, and caregivers about the importance of reviewing their Medicare notices, and Medicaid claims if dually eligible, to identify errors and potentially fraudulent activity. Program volunteers also encourage seniors to make inquiries to the SMP program when such issues are identified.
Since 1997, HHS has funded SMP projects to recruit and train retired professionals and other senior volunteers about how to recognize and report instances or patterns of health care fraud.
 
A list of the grants is at www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/Elder_Rights/SMP/doc/SMP_Grants_Awards_FY2011.pdf.

Information on the SMP program is at http://aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/Elder_Rights/SMP/index.aspx.