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Home Health & Hospice Week

Industry Notes:

Senior Patrol Ranks Swell, But Fraud Findings Shrink

Published on Wed Apr 13, 2011

You may have more seniors looking over your shoulder, but they are finding less fraud to report. In 2010, the 55 Senior Medicare Patrol Projects had 4,964 active volunteers. That's almost 12 percent more than in 2009, the HHS Office of Inspector General notes in a new report. But the senior patrol savings decreased from $214,060 in 2009 to $39,031 in 2010 -- an 82 percent decrease. "The number of beneficiaries who have learned from the Senior Medicare Patrol Projects to detect fraud, waste, and abuse, and who subsequently call the OIG fraud hotline or other contacts cannot be tracked," the OIG points out. "Therefore, the projects may not be receiving full credit for savings attributable to their work." The report is at http://go.usa.gov/jiP.
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