News Release from The Missouri SMP
by Ruth Dockins
The Missouri Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program is recruiting volunteers to take part in the fight against fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare. Medicare fraud is a big problem. It not only costs taxpayers an estimated $60 billion each year, it results in medical identity theft and excessive out of pocket costs for thousands of Medicare beneficiaries. SMP volunteers play an important role in the effort to address this problem by educating Medicare beneficiaries, their families and caregivers through presentations, outreach events and one-on-one counseling, and by assisting them in reporting questionable billing and service delivery practices.
Many SMP volunteers say this work is rewarding because they help protect seniors from falling prey to scam artists and unscrupulous health care providers while preserving the financial integrity of the Medicare program.
SMP volunteers receive comprehensive 2 days of training to prepare them for their assignments. “We want every volunteer to succeed, so the SMP program provides outstanding training programs and coaching to support them,” said Rona McNally, Missouri SMP Project Director.
The next training program for new volunteers in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area will take place on:
Date: Tuesday & Wednesday, April 16 & 17, 2013
Time: 9:00am to 3:30pm both days
Training Location: Cape Girardeau
Contact Missouri SMP at 888-515-6565
Deadline to Register: April 2, 2013
The SMP program is funded in part by grants from the U.S. Administration on Aging. Its mission is to help Medicare beneficiaries prevent, detect and report health care fraud, waste and abuse. For more information about the national program and other resources, go to www.smpresource.org.
