HHS Awards $9.3M to Projects Educating Seniors About Medicare Services
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on June 11 announced grants totaling $9.3 million for 52 "Medicare Patrol" projects -- programs aimed at detecting "potential fraud" and training retired professionals to "help older Americans become better health care consumers," according to an HHS release. Thompson said, "These projects are helping older Americans better understand their Medicare billing statements, so that they can take appropriate steps to correct errors. Through these kinds of programs, beneficiaries can play an important role in helping the Medicare program avoid unintended errors and detect deliberate abuses." Overseen by the Administration on Aging, the Senior Medicare Patrol Projects train volunteers to work in local senior centers and help seniors learn how to read their Medicare notices, how to obtain answers to their billing questions and how to use journals to keep track of their medical services and health care instructions. The programs slated to receive funding this year include four new projects in Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee and West Virginia, along with 48 existing projects in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (HHS release, 6/11).
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