Genetic Testing Fraud occurs when Medicare is billed for a test or screening that was not medically necessary and/or was not ordered by a beneficiary’s treating physician. Do not accept a genetic testing kit if it is mailed to you unless it was ordered by your physician. Do not consent to any lab tests or cheek swabs at senior centers, community events, health fairs, housing units, or parking lots!
Go to SMP Consumer Fraud Alert: Genetic Testing to learn more about protecting yourself.
It is estimated that between 60 and 62 Billion dollars are wasted on health care fraud, errors and abuse.
These dollars can cost tax payers billions of dollars and rob the Medicare Trust fund for future generations.
In the 1990s, Congress decided to institute the Senior Medicare Patrol program (SMP) to help people with Medicare to be more aware of health care fraud and how they could protect themselves, detect suspicious situations, and how to report those cases for further investigations.
ServiceLink contracts with the NH Department of Health and Human Services to provide the Senior Medicare Patrol program (SMP) in New Hampshire.
Every ServiceLink office has a Medicare trained SMP specialist to educate and counsel people on Medicare who have questions about their Medicare billings.
The SMP specialist also conducts education and outreach in the community for people with Medicare and other health care insurance so they will understand the importance of:
- checking their billing statements for accuracy
- protecting their personal identity, Medicare and Social Security numbers and never giving private information to people they do not know
- being alert of telemarketing scams and other people who claim to be calling from Medicare or Social Security
Here are some typical examples of health care fraud, errors, and abuse:
- You receive medical supplies in the mail that were not ordered by your doctor.
- Your Medicare Summary Notices shows services that you did not received.
- A sales agent came to you house uninvited and tried to sell you insurance that you don’t understand or need
- A telemarketer tries to offer you free medical supplies but asks for your Medicare number to complete the order.
Additional Resources and News:
Portable Document Format (.pdf). Visit nh.gov for a list of free .pdf readers for a variety of operating systems.
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