Many articles are published about Medicare fraud schemes such as the supposedly “new Medicare card”, bogus telemarketers offering better plans and prices, even individuals impersonating Medicare representatives, etc. However, many times these articles neglect to inform the reader how and where to report Medicare fraud.There is a program called the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) in Florida to help beneficiaries, caregivers and health care professionals report Medicare Fraud. It is a federally funded, volunteer based program that provides education on how to protect, detect and report Medicare Fraud. The SMP program relies on more than 250 volunteers throughout Florida. These wonderful individuals protect seniors and fight health care fraud, leaving more money in the system for everyone. Here in Florida the volunteers have educated more than 30,000 Medicare beneficiaries about how to avoid becoming victims of health care fraud. They also assist Medicare beneficiaries with reporting abuse or fraud, related to their Medicare benefits.
The Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, a joint effort between HHS and the Department of Justice to fight health care fraud, recovered $4.2 billion in taxpayer dollars in fiscal year 2012. The SMP Program (a national program) is an integral part of HHS/CMS campaign to combat health care fraud. Since 1997, more than 3.5 million beneficiaries have learned how to recognize and fight fraud and abuse, and more than 7,000 referrals have been made to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the Inspector General for investigation.
