SMP — Senior Medicare Patrol

Definition. Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs, funded by the federal Administration for Community Living, help people with Medicare prevent, spot and report health care fraud, errors and abuse. Every state has one. The national SMP Resource Center, 1-877-808-2468, connects you with the SMP in your state.

What it means

SMPs, staffed largely by trained volunteers, help people with Medicare:

• Read their Medicare Summary Notices and plan statements for charges they don't recognize.
• Spot and report suspected fraud, such as billing for services never received, offers of "free" equipment in exchange for a Medicare number, or identity theft.
• Recognize misleading marketing, such as callers who claim to be from Medicare.

If something looks wrong, write down who contacted you and when, keep any paperwork, don't give out your Medicare number, and contact the SMP or 1-800-MEDICARE.

In Oregon

Oregon has an SMP; reach it through the national SMP Resource Center at 1-877-808-2468 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern). For OHP (Medicaid) fraud, the Oregon Health Authority takes provider reports and ODHS takes member reports online at odhsfraudreferral.oregon.gov; the Oregon Department of Justice Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is at 971-673-1880. Complaints about an insurance agent go to the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation at 1-888-877-4894.