SMP Volunteers Wanted

South Dakota SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol ) is a statewide program for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers. Health care fraud is big business across the U.S. ranging from $80 billion to $160 billion in losses each year. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that consumers themselves lose more than $10 billion annually to health care fraud. South Dakota SMP is a volunteer driven program to educate and empower consumers to take an active role in detecting and preventing health care fraud and abuse. SMP volunteers are trained to:

• Disseminate SMP fraud prevention and identification information .
• Assist Medicare beneficiaries in resolving potential fraud-related inquiries and issues.
• Make referrals of suspected cases of fraud, waste, or abuse.

Here's what SMP Volunteers Do
Volunteers use their time and experience to educate consumers to protect their identity, read their Medicare Summary Notice and report potential fraud. They work one-on-one with beneficiaries, give presentations to groups and hand out SMP materials at events held in their communities.

Qualifications
We are seeking people who want to help Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers become better health care consumers. If you are reliable, able to maintain confidentiality and want to make a difference - become an SMP volunteer and help us to protect the Medicare Trust Fund for future generations.

Training and Preparation
Our Volunteer Foundations Training offers extensive training, including three sessions that focus first on the patrol's mission, then on Medicare basics, and finally on how to recognize Medicare fraud and what to do about it. The SMP Volunteer Foundations Training Manual will be yours to use as a reference tool. We provide annual update trainings to SMP volunteers. Two full time staff members are available to answer your questions and keep you up to date on changes and scams that effect South Dakota Medicare beneficiaries.

If you are interested in becoming a South Dakota SMP volunteer, contact us at 1-800-822-8804 or 1-800-695-8168 for more details.

Volunteers connect us with the public and are critical to our success. Join the effort to help save our healthcare dollars.