Friday, April 19, 2024
4/19/2024
Located in Houston, the Better Business Bureau Education Foundation¿s Texas Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) grant is a collaborative effort to integrate beneficiary education and awareness of health care fraud and abuse across Texas, the second most populous state in the United States. Texas covers 266,853 square miles with 254 counties and the 2010 Census estimates the number of individuals aged over 65 at approximately 2,700,000. The goals for this grant are: 1) expand the Texas SMP volunteer force; 2) increase awareness of health care fraud through outreach and education; 3) increase reports of Medicare fraud; and, 4) build upon existing relationships with law enforcement and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contract investigators to expedite reporting of potential fraud. Objectives include: 1) establishing partnerships focused on volunteer recruitment in both urban and rural communities; 2) ensuring a quality volunteer force by developing tools for assessment and mitigation provided through the SMP Volunteer Risk and Program Management Project; 3) utilizing media tools developed by AOA and the SMP National Resource Center to increase public awareness about health care fraud; and 4) increasing the number of beneficiaries reached through outreach and education. Expected outcomes include expanded awareness of health care fraud and abuse across Texas, increased number of volunteer work force, and increased detection and reporting of fraud. Partnerships include: Texas AgriLife Extension, RSVP, HEAT Strike Force, VN Teamwork, CMS and Health Integrity as the program safeguard contractor. Products include reports via SMART FACTS showing growth in capacity by increasing: 1) number of volunteers, 2) number of calls reporting Medicare fraud, and 3) number of individuals reached through outreach and education.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
