The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the award of $9 million in grants to help more than 50 Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs fight Medicare fraud. This is part a mandate to educate seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries about how to prevent fraud in Medicare.

The grants will provide additional funds to increase awareness of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries of health care fraud prevention, identification and reporting through expansion of SMP program capacity. Increased funding levels for states identified with high-fraud areas will support additional targeted strategies for collaboration, media outreach and referrals. The Administration on Aging will administer these grants in partnership with CMS.

äóìUnfortunately, scam artists are using the new health care provisions of the Affordable Care Act as an opportunity to scare and steal from seniors,äó said Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee.

The SMP volunteers work in their communities to educate Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, family members, and caregivers about the importance of reviewing their Medicare notices to
identify billing errors and potentially fraudulent activity. Program volunteers also encourage seniors to make inquiries to the SMP Program when such issues are identified, so that the project may ensure appropriate resolution or referral. Close to 3 million Medicare beneficiaries have been educated since the start of the program, and more than 1 million one-on-one counseling sessions have taken place with seniors or their caregivers.

For more information on fraud prevention efforts, visit: http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/ or http://www.cms.gov/FraudAbuseforConsumers/