Addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in SMP State Programs

The mission of the Administration for Community Living (ACL) Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program 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, the SMP program increases awareness and understanding of health care programs to protect Medicare beneficiaries from the economic and health-related consequences associated with Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse. ACL currently provides grant funding to support 54 SMP state projects, including grantees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The SMP projects use this funding to provide local outreach, education, and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries through a fully trained workforce, many of whom are volunteers.  SMP projects teach Medicare beneficiaries to protect their Medicare numbers, to detect billing discrepancies on their quarterly Medicare Summary Notice statements, and to report suspicious activity for further investigation. In addition, SMP projects actively disseminate fraud prevention and identification information through the media, outreach campaigns, and community events. As a result of these efforts, beneficiaries contact the SMP projects with inquiries and complaints regarding potential Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse. SMPs provide in-depth counseling and assistance to help beneficiaries who present with complex questions and issues.  With this funding opportunity, ACL anticipates awarding up to eight (8) one-time, new, 18-month cooperative agreements to support current SMP project grantees with advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their state SMP projects.  ACL is looking for applicants to propose action plans which will further equity within their local programs in both the management of the programs and the execution of the SMP project via public education and outreach efforts.  Proposed strategies could include the promotion of state and local partnerships, identification and implementation of promising techniques, and development and dissemination of outreach and education materials to assist the SMP project grantee and their local program efforts.    Approximately $1,000,000 is currently available to support this funding opportunity.