Have you ever looked at a medical bill and realize that something did not add up? When you called the doctor’s office to straighten things out, did they give you the run around and nothing was solved? Unfortunately, this happens to many Medicare beneficiaries. On the bright side, there is a government funded program established to help you find a solution to these problems and protect seniors from Medicare fraud.
According to their website, the Senior Medicare Patrol’s mission is to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education. SMPs are grant-funded projects of the federal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL).
The program focuses on 3 main areas:
- Receive Complaints-When Medicare beneficiaries present their complaints, SMP determines if errors, fraud, or abuse is suspected.
- Recruit Volunteers– Since 1997, Administration of Aging has funded SMP projects to recruit and train retired professionals and other senior citizens about how to recognize and report instances or patterns of health care fraud.
- Educate– SMP delivers presentations at different events and one-on-one counseling with Medicare beneficiaries.
This is a great organization to be a part of because it empowers seniors to take control of their health care. Each state has their own SMP location. The SMP is looking for volunteers that have past experience at being a teacher, a doctor, nurse, accountant, investigator, law enforcement personnel, and attorneys. If you have experience in any of these fields and would like to volunteer, contact your local SMP office.
If you have any questions regarding your Medicare or health care plan please contact us at 615-541-4257 or visit our website at www.healthtn.com for more information. We will be happy to help in any way we can.
Jessica Haase
Jessica is a Murray State Graduate with a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications an an under graduate degree in Graphic Communications Management. Basically, Jessica is a professional communicator. She’s also a Pinterest addict and has a love for all things HGTV and Food Network. Yes, she’s that girl. However, Jessica is a Walking Dead and Game of Thrones fan girl, so we consider her interests very diverse and well-rounded.
