Medicare Assistance
The DES Division of Aging and Adult Services houses two programs to aid with Medicare—the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP).
The Senior Medicare Patrol’s (SMP) mission is to 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.
SMP is a group of professionally trained staff and volunteers who teach Medicare beneficiaries how to protect their personal information, identify and report errors on their health care statements, recognize scams-such as illegal marketing, providing unnecessary services, and charging for services that were not provided-and report fraud and abuse to the proper authorities. There are SMPs in every state and many U.S. territories.
This program is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $630,007.00 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
SMP Contacts
- Arizona SMP Helpline
1 (800) 432-4040
Questions & Answers about SMP
What do I do if I have been scammed?
If you have detected suspicious or erroneous activity on your Medicare Summary Notice or Part D Explanation of Benefits, you should contact your provider or plan. If you are not comfortable calling your provider or plan or you are not satisfied with the response you get, call your local Arizona SMP Helpline at 1-800-432-4040.
How do SMPs prevent health care fraud?
SMPs conduct outreach in their communities by presenting to groups, hosting exhibits and community events, providing one-on-one counseling, and answering calls to the SMP help lines. SMP volunteers also help Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who are unable to address fraud by themselves, and, if necessary, SMPs will refer beneficiaries to outside organizations that can investigate.
How can I protect myself against Medicare fraud?
Protect your personal information. Don’t give sensitive information to someone you don’t know. Your Social Security, Medicare, and bank account numbers can be used to defraud you. You also should avoid sending personal information on the phone or over an unsecure Internet connection. Never purchase items from a website that you’ve found from and e-mail link. If you know the name of an organization you want to do business with, go to the website on your own.
Don’t give any sensitive information out over the phone. Beware of people who say they’re from an organization such as Medicare and they need to know your Medicare number. If they truly were from Medicare, they wouldn’t need to ask. Nor would they call or visit your home. Also, consider getting on the federal DO NOT CALL list.
How can I detect fraud and identify errors?
- Keep records of your health care visits, services, and equipment provided, significant lab work, etc. Also, file copies of any bills or notices from insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, etc. as well as canceled checks.
- Always review your Medicare Summary Notice or Part D Explanation of Benefits, and compare these notices to your own records and receipts to make sure they are correct.
- Look for three things on your billing statement:
- Charges for something you didn’t get,
- Billing for the same thing twice, and;
- Services that were not ordered by you or your doctor
- Is it okay to dispute information on my Medicare Summary Notice or Part D Explanation of Benefits? Your health benefits are yours, and it is perfectly acceptable to ask questions of your provider or plan if something does not make sense or may be incorrect. You should contact your provider or plan if:
- You do not understand the charge billed
- You do not think you received a product or service that appears on your statement