Learn About the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) – Helping People to Fight Medicare Fraud

SUMMARYAs a contractor for Medicare, Acentra Health serves as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization, also referred to as a BFCC-QIO. While Acentra Health provides BFCC-QIO services in 29 states (visit www.acentraqio.com to see the states served), the general information is relevant to everyone who has Medicare (including Medicare Advantage) and everyone who works with people who have Medicare. This episode is a conversation with our guest, Crystal Strong, the Program Director for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) program, and the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program within the South Carolina Department on Aging (SCDOA). She provides oversight and direction to the state grantees to support their work assisting Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers through outreach, counseling, and education. In this role, she is also responsible for the education and certification of the counselors/volunteers statewide. Crystal actively supports the program networks by providing training and technical assistance whenever possible. Prior to this position Crystal has functioned in various roles and programs since 2000 when her tenure at SCDOA began. Crystal holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from South Carolina State University.  For more information about Acentra Health BFCC-QIO, please visit https://www.acentraqio.com.KEY TOPICS 00:24: Overview, introduction of guest, Crystal Strong01:58: Information about the SMP program03:31: Tips for people with Medicare04:14: How does SMP work with stakeholders04:54: Summary and final thoughtsSUBSCRIBESubscribe to our newsletters: Case Review Connections, On the Healthcare Front at https://www.acentraqio.com/newslettersRESOURCESBFCC-QIO Information for stakeholders: www.acentraqio.com/partnersBFCC-QIO Information for people who have Medicare: https://www.acentraqio.com/bene/helplineSenior Medicare Patrol (SMP) - https://smpresource.org/State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance Program (SHIBA): https://www.shiphelp.org/South Carolina Department of Aging - https://aging.sc.gov/Medicare: https://www.medicare.gov/ Music: Motivational Upbeat Corporate by RinkevichMusic https://soundcloud.com/rinkevichmusichttps://protunes.net/Video Link: https://bit.ly/3NNqGTs