[Traywick] Medicare losses more than 60 billion dollars annually to waste,
fraud and abuse. This is a problem for all Arkansans receiving Medicare
services. Every dollar lost to fraudulent activities is a dollar lost to fund
genuine healthcare and service needs. {Slide - Medicare loses $60 billion
each year, waste, fraud, abuse. Picture of a woman in a hospital with a
technician. Picture of a man taking a stress test on a treadmill with a nurse
taking his blood pressure.]
John Pollett is here with us from Arkansas SMP to tell us how we can help.
John, what is Arkansas SMP?
[Pollett] Arkansas SMP is the Arkansas Senior Medicare Patrol. It’s a
federally funded program and it’s funded through the Administration on Aging.
It’s a national program. There are 54 programs - one in every state and in four
territories. And our goal is to recruit and train volunteers to share the
message about how to prevent healthcare fraud.
[Traywick] Well, how would a person recognize fraud?
[Pollett] That’s probably one of the most difficult things and that’s one of
the primary goals of our program, is to teach people to recognize the little
innuendoes that aren’t so obvious. The people that are perpetrating the fraud
are pros. They know exactly what to say. They are like trained salesmen. They
get up every day and practice how they are going to get the money from the
Medicare beneficiaries and from the trust fund.
Look out for the things that aren’t right. Look out for those people who
represent themselves as being Medicare, who may come to your front door or may
call on the phone saying I’m from Medicare. Medicare does not go door to door,
does not call individuals and will not ask you for your Medicare number. So
there’s a first red flag there. When someone’s calling saying hey I’m with
Medicare, it’s OK to just hang up the phone or close the front door. You don’t
have to respond.
We also want to look for those things that appear too good to be true. As the
old saying goes, “if it looks too good to be true it probably is.” So check
those things out. Medicare doesn’t give stuff away free, so there are not any
super deals that you can expect. We just tell everyone to be vigilant; be aware
of the fact that there are people who are trying to get money from the trust
fund.
[Traywick] What does your organization do to try to address Medicare fraud?
[Pollett] Our program is designed to get into each community and state, and
recruit and train senior volunteers to help get the word out. We provide the
information, we provide the tools, and we provide the materials that will help
people to understand how to recognize fraud. We teach three tenets: protect,
detect and report. Protect your healthcare information and your Medicare number.
Don’t give it out. Look for opportunities – detect - read your Medicare summary,
be aware of those folks that are out there, and then to report it. That is the
most important thing is to be able to provide information to get the potential
fraud reported.
[Traywick] If someone needs further information, how do they contact you or
Arkansas SMP?
[Pollett] The easiest way to contact us is through our toll-free number. It’s
1-866-726-2916. That number goes directly to the desk of our program
coordinator, Kathleen Purcell, who will take the information, ask some
questions, and try to determine what will be the next step to address the
problem.
[Traywick] Thank you very much, John. For more information about this or other topics for senior adults, please
visit our website at www.uaex.edu or contact your local Cooperative Extension
Service office.
[U of A University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture, various pictures of people]
University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
2301 South University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204 • USA
Phone (501) 671-2000 • Fax (501) 671-2209
