Federal grant helps UCDD to educate Middle Tennessee seniors about Medicare
August 6, 2008, MIDDLE TENNESSEE – A $180,000 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant will enable the Upper Cumberland Development District to continue to educate seniors in Middle Tennessee about Medicare, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon announced.
“I applaud these efforts,” Gordon said. “Informed Medicare beneficiaries are better able to protect themselves against fraud and to make Medicare work for them.”
The goal and mission of UCDD’s Senior Medicare Patrol Program is to educate the public and Medicare beneficiaries to help reduce fraud and abuse, Lanelle Godsey, Medicare and Community Services specialist, said. The Senior Medicare Patrol Program is a state program that partners with volunteers and the State Health Insurance Program. It educates through presentations, health fairs and group sessions.
“The number one thing we want is for people to read their Medicare Summary Notices,” Godsey said. The Medicare Summary Notice is a monthly benefit statement sent to the beneficiary.
Godsey said the misrepresentation of Medicare Advantage plans and billing problems are the biggest areas of concern. A Medicare Advantage plan is a plan offered by a private insurance company that contracts with Medicare to provide the beneficiary with all his or her Part A and Part B benefits. Godsey said the billing problems are usually not fraudulent, but need to be resolved.
The Senior Medicare Patrol Program’s hotline is 1-866-836-7677.
