SMP – Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging (IAAAA)
Who Are the SMPs?
The SMP programs, also known as Senior Medicare Patrol programs, help Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect, and prevent health care fraud. Because this work often requires face-to-face contact to be most effective, SMPs nationwide recruit and teach nearly 4,500 volunteers every year to help in this effort. Most SMP volunteers are both retired and Medicare beneficiaries and thus well-positioned to assist their peers.
Their primary goal is to:
- Teach Medicare beneficiaries how to protect their personal identity
- Identify and report errors on their health care bills and identify deceptive health care practices, such as illegal marketing, providing unnecessary or inappropriate services and charging for services that were never provided.
In some cases, SMPs do more than educate: When Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries are unable to act on their own behalf to address these problems, the SMPs work with family caregivers and others to address the problems, and if necessary, make referrals to outside organizations who are able to intervene.
How They Work and Volunteer Opportunities
SMPs are funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA). They receive technical assistance from the National Consumer Protection Technical Resource Center. Financial support from AoA and technical support from The Center are not enough to maintain the accomplishments of the SMPs. SMPs rely on the efforts of thousands of volunteers and hundreds of partnerships at the community, state and national levels. For more details about volunteer opportunities available within the SMP program, click here. If you are interested in ways your organization can partner with SMPs, click here.
SMP activities support AoA’s goals of promoting increased choice and greater independence among older adults. The activities of the SMP program also serve to enhance the financial, emotional, physical and mental well-being of older adults -- thereby increasing their capacity to maintain security and independence in retirement and to make better financial and health care choices.
Stats
For up-to-date statistics regarding the effectiveness of the SMP programs, read the latest statistics compiled by the Office of the Inspector General, click here or see the Fraud and Abuse Facts page of this website.
Video
Cracking Down on Medicare Fraud
For more information, contact us at:
SMP – Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging (IAAAA)
4755 Kingsway Drive, Suite 402
Indianapolis, IN 46205
Phone: 800-986-3505
Email: SMP – Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging (IAAAA)
Website: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov