PROJECT STAFF
Linda Madsen, Project Director
Brenda Munson, Coordinator of Volunteers
Kale McHenry, Project Coordinator
Lou Wagner, Regional Volunteer
PROJECT RESOURCES
Medicare Basics for American Indians
Winter 2021-2022 Volunteer Newsletter
Spring 2022 Volunteer Newsletter
Jan 2022 ND SMP Scam of the Month
Feb 2022 ND SMP Scam of the Month
March 2022 ND SMP Scam of the Month
April 2022 ND SMP Scam of the Month
May 2022 ND SMP Scam of the Month
STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCES
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – www.ftc.gov
Medicare – www.medicare.gov
ND Attorney General – www.attorneygeneral.nd.gov
ND State Health Insurance Counseling (SHIC) – www.nd.gov/ndins/shic/
SMP Resource Center – www.smpresource.org
Social Security Administration – www.ssa.gov
North Dakota Senior medicare Patrol: What We Do?
Senior Medicare Patrols (SMPs) empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education. SMPs are grant-funded projects of the federal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL). Their work is in three main areas:
- Conduct Outreach and Education. SMPs give presentations to groups, exhibit at events, and work one-on-one with Medicare beneficiaries.
- Engage Volunteers. Protecting older persons’ health, finances, and medical identity while saving precious Medicare dollars is a cause that attracts civic-minded Americans.
- Receive Beneficiary Complaints. When Medicare beneficiaries, caregivers, and family members bring their complaints to the SMP, the SMP makes a determination about whether or not fraud, errors, or abuse is suspected. When fraud or abuse is suspected, they make referrals to the appropriate state and federal agencies for further investigation.
NORTH DAKOTA SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL FRAUD ALERT!!!
ND BENEFICIARIES ARE REPORTING SCAM CALLS! Here’s what’s happening:
- A beneficiary receives the Scam of the Month fact sheet in the mail.
- Following the mailing, they get a phone call where the caller claims to be from ND SMP.
- The caller requests credit card information, stating that in order to continue to receive the Scam of the Month fact sheet, payment needs to be made to SMP.
ND SMP does publish the Scam of the Month fact sheet; however, it is a free publication. THIS IS A SCAM. Just as Medicare will never “cold” call you, neither will ND SMP. SMP will NEVER charge to assist Medicare beneficiaries. SMP services are free.
If you have not initiated the call, or do not know who you are talking to, do not give your credit card number to anyone over the phone. If you have been a victim of this scam, contact ND SMP at 1-800-233-1737.
WHERE ARE WE LOCATED
We are located at the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD) on the campus of Minot State University:
500 University Avenue West
Memorial Hall
Minot, ND 58707
This project was supported, in part by grant number 90MPPG0021, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201
Points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent official ACL or DHHS policy.