Friday, January 13 , 2017
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In This Issue
 
Fraud in the News
The following are current news articles about health care and fraud issues.

Consumer Fraud:

Please share this Fraud Alert with colleagues, consumers, or other professionals in your area. If you have any questions about the Illinois SMP program, or to receive these Fraud Alerts directly, please contact Jason Echols, Healthcare Consumer Protection Coordinator at AgeOptions.
 
This project was supported, in part by grant number 90MP0216, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. 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 for Community Living policy. 
  

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Dear SMP Readers, 

 

In this week's Fraud Alert, make a resolution to fight fraud in 2017 and don't forget to follow us on Facebook!

 
What's Your New Year's Fraud Resolution?
     
A new year is upon us. This is a time when many people make resolutions. Why not make a resolution to help prevent fraud in your community? 

Make 2017 the year that you resolve to empower yourself and the people in your life to fight fraud by pledging to do the following:
  • Volunteer! Volunteering is a great resolution to make, and the Illinois SMP is a great program to volunteer with! Volunteer opportunities may include presenting health care fraud information to other Medicare beneficiaries, counseling individuals or helping with administrative tasks. As a statewide program, there is an SMP partner covering all areas of Illinois, email Bailey Huffman at AgeOptions (Bailey.Huffman@ageoptions.org) to find out more about opportunities in your community.
  • Encourage at least three people you know to read their Medicare Summary Notices (MSN) just as you do. Explain that reading your MSN is like checking the bill at a restaurant - you want to make sure that you and Medicare are not charged for things you did not actually get or that you did not medically need. Share our How to Read an MSN tip sheet. 
  • Pass on what you know about healthcare fraud by sharing these Fraud Alert emails with the "Send to a Colleague" button on the left side. Encourage others to sign up for the Fraud Alert email by visiting our online archive and clicking on the sign up button. (If you forward your Fraud Alert email, be sure to ask people not to click "Unsubscribe" because that will unsubscribe you and not them.)
From all of us at the Illinois SMP at AgeOptions, we hope have a wonderful year, and we look forward to serving you in 2017 and beyond.
 
Join SMP on Facebook - Like Us Today and Follow Us in 2017
     
Here's another New Year's resolution: follow the Illinois SMP on Facebook! Last month, the Illinois SMP at AgeOptions launched our Facebook page, and since then, we've posted several health care fraud tips and news stories and will continue to grow this page in 2017.

Visit t he  Illinois SMP page on Facebook or you can search Facebook for "Illinois SMP" and b e sure to like us in order to follow us.
Fraud Alerts contain information about current scams taking place in Illinois, announcements and updates about programs or services related to health care and/or fraud protection, and links to news articles about health care and fraud topics. Please forward any recommendations or announcements that you would like to be included in a future Fraud Alert to jason.echols@ageoptions.org.