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Don't Be a Target of Healthcare
Fraud.
Minnesota SMP
Empowering Seniors to Prevent Healthcare Fraud
[Protect] [Detect]
[Report]
[History]
[Stories] [Volunteer]
Protect : Protect yourself from
Medicare errors, fraud, and abuse.
Protecting your personal information is the best line of
defense in the fight against healthcare fraud and abuse. Every
day, consumers get ripped off by scam artists. Medicare and
Medicaid lose billions of dollars each year. You can make a
difference!
Here are
some ways to take an active role in protecting your healthcare
benefits:
-
Treat
your Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security numbers like a
credit card number. Never give these numbers to a stranger.
-
Remember, Medicare doesn’t call or visit to sell you
anything.
-
Don’t
carry your Medicare or Medicaid card unless you will need
it. Only take it to doctor’s appointments, visits to your
hospital or clinic, or trips to the pharmacy.
-
Record
doctor visits, tests and procedures in your
personal health
care journal or calendar.
-
Save
Medicare Summary Notices and Part D Explanation of Benefits.
Shred the documents when they are no longer useful.
Detect : Learn to detect potential
errors, fraud, and abuse.
Even
when you do everything right, there is a chance that you could
be a target of healthcare fraud. There are a lot of ways that
your personal information can be used without your permission.
Here are
some steps you can take to detect potential errors, fraud and
abuse:
-
Charges for something you didn’t get
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Billing for the same thing twice
-
Services that were not ordered by your doctor
Report : If you suspect that you have
been a target of errors, fraud, and abuse, report it.
If
you suspect errors, fraud or abuse, report it immediately! You
will protect other people from becoming victims and help to
save your Medicare benefits.
Here are the steps you should take to report your concerns and
abuse:
- If
you have questions about information on your Medicare
Summary Notice or Part D Explanation of Benefits, call your
provider or plan first.
- If
you are not comfortable calling your provider or plan or you
are not satisfied with the response you get, call your local
SMP, Senior LinkAge Line®,
at 1-800-333 2433.
Brochure - Don't Be
a Target of Healthcare Fraud (pdf)
Fraud
Free Pasta & Other Tasty Recipes and Tips to Prevent
Healthcare Fraud (pdf) Cookbook sponsored by
Kowalski's Markets, the federal SMP project, Minnesota
Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the Minnesota Board
on Aging. (The cookbook is designed to be printed
landscape style, back-to-back, folded and read book style.)
Healthcare
Journal (pdf)
Individual copies and large quantities of the Don't Be a
Target of Healthcare Fraud brochure and the Healthcare Journal
are available from the Senior LinkAge Line®
at 1-800-333 2433.
Disclaimer
This website was supported, in part, by a grant from the Administration on Aging,
Department of Health and Human Services. Grantees
undertaking projects under government sponsorship
are encouraged to express freely their findings
and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do
not, therefore, necessarily represent official
Administration on Aging policy. |
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