SMP Fraud Alert - October 5, 2018

Friday, October 5, 2018

Fraud in the News

The following are current news articles about fraud issues.

Health Care Fraud:

1. " 5 Ways Medicare Theft Affects You Directly " (AARP)

2. "Please Don't Get Your Cancer Treatments in a Bar" (CMS)

Please share this Fraud Alert with colleagues, consumers, or other professionals in your area. If you would like to sign up to receive the Fraud Alert directly, visit click here.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 90MPPG0036, 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.

Dear SMP Readers,

In this week's Fraud Alert, an SMP volunteer's work is highlighted in a news article and Open Enrollment begins October 15 - beware of fraud!

Have a good weekend!

Illinois SMP Volunteer Empowers Local Residents to Prevent Fraud

This week The Beacon-News featured an article about Illinois SMP Volunteer Tom Teune and why he volunteers with the Illinois SMP Program. Read the article " Senior Medicare Patrol working to keep Fox Valley residents safe from scams" on the Chicago Tribune site by clicking here.

Volunteering with SMP for more than three years, Tom gives presentations and goes to fairs where he talks to Medicare beneficiaries about how they can Protect, Detect and Report health care fraud. Tom works with his local coordinator Glenda Love with the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Glenda is also featured in the article.

Tom is one of the great SMP volunteers that are talking to people in their own communities about fraud. If you would like to volunteer with the Illinois SMP, check out our volunteer webpage or call AgeOptions at
(800)699-9043 and ask for "SMP."

Tom Teune, SMP Volunteer

Medicare's Open Enrollment is October 15 - December 7. Are You Ready?

Every year from October 15 to December 7, everyone on Medicare has the opportunity to make changes to their plans. This is called Medicare's Open Enrollment Period, and it is all about giving you a choice in your Medicare coverage. If you have a Part D prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan, you can choose to keep it or choose to change it.

During Open Enrollment, some insurance agents may try to persuade you to choose their plan through inappropriate marketing. This is wrong and should be reported.

Know that you have resources to help you compare plans. Read more about Open Enrollment in our SMP article: Medicare Open Enrollment and Marketing Fraud: Making a Choice that is Right for You.

If you are targeted by inappropriate insurance marketing tactics, call the Illinois SMP at AgeOptions at (800)699-9043 and ask for "SMP."

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 [email protected]