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HHS Awards $4.5 Million for Senior Medicare Patrol Projects July 3, 2002 - HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the award of $4.5 million to programs that train retired professionals to help older Americans become better health care consumers, help identify and prevent billing errors and potential fraud. The 51 Senior Medicare Patrol Project grants include 28 new projects and 23 continuations that are distributed in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. "These projects are helping older Americans better understand their Medicare and Medicaid billing statements, so that they can take appropriate steps to correct errors," Secretary Thompson said. "Through these kinds of programs, beneficiaries can become better health care consumers and play an important role in helping the Medicare and Medicaid programs avoid payment errors." State and local organizations receive these grants from HHS' Administration on Aging (AoA) to help older Americans identify and prevent potential both unintended billing errors and potentially deliberate abuses. The Senior Medicare Patrol projects teach volunteer retired professionals, such as doctors, nurses, accountants, 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 48,000 volunteers and conducted more than 60,000 community education events reaching nearly 10 million people. "The contributions made by thousands of extraordinary volunteers who serve as peer educators in communities across the United States have made this program a success,” Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell said. "Their personal time and commitment is helping us to protect the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs." The new Senior Medicare Patrol Project grants and the amount of each award are as follows: q Alabama Department of Senior Services, Montgomery, Alabama -- $160,000 q Alaska Department of Administration, Juneau, Alaska -- $149,482 q Arizona Department of Economic Security, Phoenix, Arizona -- $159,930 q Arkansas Department of Human Services, Little Rock, Arkansas -- $160,000 q Colorado Division of Insurance, Denver, Colorado -- $189,279 q Connecticut Department of Social Services, Hartford, Connecticut -- $160,000 q Friendship House Association, Inc., Washington, D.C. -- $159,970 q Legal Counsel for the Elderly, Washington, D.C. -- $160,000 q National Hispanic Council on Aging, Washington, D.C. (and southern Texas) -- $191,497 q Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, New Castle, Delaware -- $160,000 q Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Tallahassee, Florida -- $160,000 q Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta, Georgia -- $160,000 Georgia q Department of Human Resources, Atlanta, Georgia -- $160,000 q Idaho Commission on Aging, Boise, Idaho -- $160,000 q Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley Inc., Lawrence, Massachusetts -- $176,152 q Maine Department of Human Services, Augusta, Maine -- $160,000 q Area Agencies on Aging Association of Lansing, Michigan -- $160,000 q Missoula Area Agency on Aging, Missoula, Montana -- $200,000 q Nevada Office of the Attorney General, Las Vegas, Nevada -- $160,000 q New Mexico State Agency on Aging, Santa Fe, New Mexico -- $200,000 q Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, Columbus, Ohio -- $123,128 q Pro-Seniors, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio -- $124,863 q Oklahoma Insurance Department, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma -- $160,000 q Seniors and People with Disabilities, Salem, Oregon -- $160,000 q Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, Santurce, Puerto Rico -- $160,000 q Better Business Bureau Education Foundation, Houston, Texas -- $101,165 q Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Richmond, Virginia -- $160,000 q Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, Olympia, Washington -- $160,000 The states where continuation grants have been awarded are: q California, q Hawaii, q Illinois, q Iowa, q Kentucky, q Louisiana, q Maryland, q Minnesota, q Mississippi, q Missouri, q Nebraska, q New Hampshire, q New Jersey, q New York, q North Carolina, q Pennsylvania, q Rhode Island, q South Carolina, q South Dakota, q Tennessee, q West Virginia, q Wisconsin and q Wyoming. 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, see http://www.aoa.gov/smp.
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