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Press Releases Contact: Moya Benoit Thompson 202-401-4541 AoA’s Medicare Fraud Program to be Honored The Administration on Aging (AoA) in the Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS) together with Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) will honor the outstanding contributions of 12 senior volunteers who serve as community educators and resources in the nation’s fight against Medicare and Medicaid waste, fraud and abuse. HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala will make opening remarks. These volunteers represent AoA’s 12 original Health Care Anti-Fraud, Waste and Abuse Community Volunteers Demonstration Projects, which were created under report language authored by Sen. Harkin in 1997. Over the past 18 months AoA’s demonstration projects, now named the Senior Patrol Project grants, have trained more than 3,700 retired professionals such as doctors, nurses, accountants, law enforcement personnel, investigators, teachers, attorneys and others to work with Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. These community volunteers help identify deceptive health care practices, such as overbilling, overcharging, or providing unnecessary or inappropriate services. In 1997 alone the Administration’s programs saved more than $7.5 billion, and, combined with the efforts of our HHS partners in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration) and the Office of the Inspector General, returned another $1 billion to the Medicare Trust Fund. On June 17 AoA renewed its 12 original grants and awarded 29 new grants in 36 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. This awards ceremony is part of AoA’s National Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Conference which will bring together more than 250 professionals from across the country who are involved in the national initiative to combat and prevent Medicare and Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse. Conference sessions and workshops will cover such topics as national trends in the fraud and abuse arena, strategies for outreach to isolated and non-English-speaking beneficiaries, working with the provider community, tracking performance outcomes, and the identification of fraud, waste and abuse in the managed care setting. When: Monday September 27, 1999; 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Where: Room 325 Russell Senate Office Building; Washington, D.C. Senior volunteers being recognized, and the programs they represent include:
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