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PRESS RELEASE
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
| Monday, August 26, 2003 |
Contact: AoA Press Office
(202) 401-4541 |
THE ADMINISTRATION ON AGING AWARDS $9.4 MILLION FOR SENIOR MEDICARE ATROL PROJECTS
The Administration on Aging (AoA), part of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS), awarded $9.4 million to 25
new Senior Medicare Patrol projects and 32 continuations that
will train retired professionals to help older Americans become
better health care consumers by identifying potential and unintended
Medicare and Medicaid billing errors as well as potentially deliberate
abuses. AoA provides these grants to state and local non-profit
organizations.
“ These projects help expand this program by providing more volunteers
to ensure that older Americans understand and can act on, if necessary, errors
they may find in their billing statements,” Secretary of Health and Human
Services, Tommy G. Thompson said. “As a result, they become better educated
health consumers and join HHS and the medical community in helping to prevent
fraud and abuse of our nation’s health care system.”
The Senior Medicare Patrol projects teach volunteer retired
professionals, such as doctors, nurses, accountant, investigators,
law enforcement personnel, attorneys and teachers, to help Medicare
and Medicaid beneficiaries to be better health care consumers.
Since 1997, these projects and other AoA grants have trained
more than 35,000 volunteers and conducted more than 200,000 training
sessions in which almost 1.1 million Medicare beneficiaries were
educated. In addition, closed investigations have resulted in
the recoupment of over $81 million in Medicare and Medicaid funds.
“With the support of our national aging network, thousands
of volunteers are working to educate older citizens across the
nation so that they can identify deceptive health care practices,
such as overbilling, overcharging, or providing unnecessary or
inappropriate services,” Assistant Secretary for Aging
Josefina G. Carbonell said.
With the addition of Kansas, North Dakota and Vermont, these
57 Senior Medicare Patrol Projects--25 new projects and 32 continuations--operate
in all states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The project roster also includes for the first time a faith-based
organization in Kansas and a Federally recognized tribe in Wisconsin.
The new awards averaged $169,000 each.
The 25 new Senior Medicare Patrol Projects are as follows:
- Aging 2000, Inc. – Providence, Rhode Island
- California
Health Advocates, Sacramento, California
- Center for Advocacy
for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
- Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, Madison,
Wisconsin
- Community of Vermont Elders, Montpelier, Vermont
- District
III Area Agency on Aging, Warrensburg, Missouri
- East River
Legal Services Corporation, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Executive
Office on Aging, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council,
Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin
- Indianapolis Association of Area
Agencies on Aging Education
- Institute (IAAAA), Indianapolis,
Indiana
- Iowa Department of Elder Affairs, Des Moines, Iowa
- Legal
Assistance of North Dakota, Inc., Bismarck, North Dakota
- Maryland
Department of Aging, Baltimore, Maryland
- Minnesota Board on
Aging, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Mississippi Department of Human
Resources, Jackson, Mississippi
- NE Department of Health & Human
Services, Lincoln, Nebraska
- NH Department of Health & Human
Services, Concord, New Hampshire
- New York State Office for
the Aging, Albany, New York
- North Carolina Department of Insurance,
Raleigh, North Carolina
- SC Department of Health & Human
Services, Columbia, South Carolina
- Suburban Area Agency on
Aging, Oak Park, Illinois
- Utah Legal Services, Inc., Salt
Lake City, Utah
- Vernon Parish Council on Aging, Inc., Leesville,
Louisiana
- Via Christi Foundation, Inc., Wichita, Kansas
- Wyoming Department
of Health, Cheyenne, Wyoming
The states and territories
where continuation grants have been awarded are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia (2), Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio (2),
Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas (2), Virginia, Washington,
and West Virginia. Continuation awards were also awarded to
the territories of Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. (2).
To help beneficiaries and others report suspected fraud, the
HHS Office of the Inspector General maintains a toll-free hotline
1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477). For more information about the
Administration on Aging’s Senior Medicare Patrol grants,
go to http://www.aoa.gov/smp/.
| Last Modified: 7/16/2009 9:06:10 AM |
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