Advocacy In Action Center

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05/13/2010

n4a Applauds Expanded Efforts by HHS and DOJ to Fight Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Protect Consumers From Scams

Statement by Sandy Markwood, n4a CEO, following the HHS-DOJ News Conference May 13, 2010

 "n4a strongly supports the expanded efforts announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fight fraud and strengthen consumer protection programs in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Building on the Affordable Care Act, the new HHS and DOJ initiative will be invaluable as we work to continue the fight against Medicare and Medicaid fraud and scams targeting older Americans.

We were glad to hear Secretary Sebelius mention the importance of consumer education efforts in preventing scams from taking place. As the Secretary noted during today’s news conference Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) volunteers will be critical to helping alert Medicare beneficiaries to new scams that have already been identified in many parts of the country.

As a trusted community resource, Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and their Information & Referral/Assistance specialists and benefits counselors are already working to help beneficiaries with their questions about the Affordable Care Act and to provide them with information on how health care reform will affect them. We look forward to working closely with HHS to educate consumers about potential scams as it expands its efforts in coordination with the DOJ.”