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Mission
The mission of AoA’s Anti Fraud and Abuse Team is to serve as the agency’s focal point for coordinating, implementing, monitoring, expanding, evaluating, and promoting efforts to provide consumer information and protection designed to detect, prevent and report error, fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Goals
Provide in-depth and timely expertise, information, leadership and technical assistance to our grantees and to serve as a reliable and timely clearinghouse of information between the projects, the aging network, older persons and their families, and public and private sector entities.
Senior Medicare Patrol Project
The AoA has been able to continue to play a key role in this Administration's ongoing anti-fraud efforts through the enactment of P.L. 104-209, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997. Language in this legislation, offered by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), was adopted, directing the AoA to establish demonstration projects that utilize the skills and expertise of retired professionals in identifying and reporting error, fraud and abuse.
These projects are designed to recruit and train, retired professionals, such as doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, accountants, and others, to work with their peers in senior centers and other places where older persons gather. In May of 1997, the AoA first awarded funds to 12 agencies and organizations for this purpose.
Based on the success of these activities, in June, 1999, the AoA awarded 41 grants, totaling $7 million, to expand funding to 29 new and 12 renewed community-based programs. Known as the "Senior Medicare Patrol Projects," these grants operate in 36 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico to train retired volunteers to work as community resources in the identification of error, fraud, and abuse.
In June 2000 the AoA awarded 7 more grants, bringing the total to 48 projects, operating in 43 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Volunteers work in their communities and in local senior centers to help identify deceptive health care practices, such as overbilling, overcharging, or providing unnecessary or inappropriate services. Senior volunteers undergo several days of training reviewing health care benefit statements and outlining steps individuals can take to protect themselves.
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