Protect your Medicare by protecting your Medicare number

Are you a bargain hunter? Always looking for the best deal or ready for the next best thing? If someone offered you a state-of-the-art arthritis kit and said Medicare would cover it, would you be interested? There are lots of benefits that come with aging, and discounts are one of them. But discounts and deals that sound too good to be true are one way that fraudsters may try to steal your identity.

When someone steals or unlawfully uses personal information like your Social Security number or your Medicare number, it’s called identity theft. The number of identity theft victims age 65 or older increased from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014. In fact, thieves consider your Medicare number and other protected health information more valuable than credit card information because people can reuse them to bill Medicare for services that you didn’t get. When people steal your identity and bill Medicare for items or services you didn’t get, it drives up costs for everyone.

At Medicare, we’re fighting health care fraud, waste, and abuse every day. An important part of that is preventing identity theft. Right now, your Medicare number is based on a Social Security number—yours or someone else’s. Starting in April 2018, we’re replacing the Social Security-based Medicare number with a new Medicare number, and will mail you a new Medicare card with your new number. You don’t have to do anything to get your new card and new number. And we’ll NEVER call you and ask for personal information for you to get your new card.

Remember, the first and best line of defense against fraud is you. You can help fight Medicare fraud in 2 simple steps:

• Protect your Medicare number—treat it like you treat your credit card number.
• Check your Medicare statement for errors, like equipment or services you never got.

Learn more about how you can fight Medicare fraud. And find out how to spot, report, and stop fraud, and protect yourself from identity theft with help from the Senior Medicare Patrol.

Filed under: Strengthening Medicare, Uncategorized

from Doctors Who Take Medicaid http://ift.tt/2wvBqz3 via Doctors Who Take Medicaid

Protect your Medicare by protecting your Medicare number

Are you a bargain hunter? Always looking for the best deal or ready for the next best thing? If someone offered you a state-of-the-art arthritis kit and said Medicare would cover it, would you be interested? There are lots of benefits that come with aging, and discounts are one of them. But discounts and deals that sound too good to be true are one way that fraudsters may try to steal your identity.

When someone steals or unlawfully uses personal information like your Social Security number or your Medicare number, it’s called identity theft. The number of identity theft victims age 65 or older increased from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014. In fact, thieves consider your Medicare number and other protected health information more valuable than credit card information because people can reuse them to bill Medicare for services that you didn’t get. When people steal your identity and bill Medicare for items or services you didn’t get, it drives up costs for everyone.

At Medicare, we’re fighting health care fraud, waste, and abuse every day. An important part of that is preventing identity theft. Right now, your Medicare number is based on a Social Security number—yours or someone else’s. Starting in April 2018, we’re replacing the Social Security-based Medicare number with a new Medicare number, and will mail you a new Medicare card with your new number. You don’t have to do anything to get your new card and new number. And we’ll NEVER call you and ask for personal information for you to get your new card.

Remember, the first and best line of defense against fraud is you. You can help fight Medicare fraud in 2 simple steps:

• Protect your Medicare number—treat it like you treat your credit card number.
• Check your Medicare statement for errors, like equipment or services you never got.

Learn more about how you can fight Medicare fraud. And find out how to spot, report, and stop fraud, and protect yourself from identity theft with help from the Senior Medicare Patrol.

Filed under: Strengthening Medicare, Uncategorized

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Finding a hospice provider just got easier

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working diligently to make healthcare quality information more transparent and understandable for consumers in all stages of life to empower them to take ownership of their healthcare choices. This includes decisions about end-of-life care, when consumers in a time of vulnerability need transparent, digestible information to make the best choice for their care or the care of their loved ones.

We at CMS understand that there are many difficult decisions that come with a terminal illness—including deciding if hospice is right for you and which hospice to choose—which is why we have launched Hospice Compare. This new website will help empower you by allowing you to easily and quickly compare hospice providers on various aspects of care and assess the quality of care that potential hospices provide.

Hospice Compare provides information on hospices across the nation and allows patients, family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers to compare hospice providers based on some key quality metrics, like what percentage of a hospice provider’s patients were screened for pain or difficult or uncomfortable breathing and if their patients’ preferences are being met. Specifically, the quality measures look at the percentages of patients who received recommended treatment, for example:

• Patients or caregivers who were invited to discuss treatment preferences, like hospitalization and resuscitation, at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients or caregivers who were invited to discuss beliefs and values at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients who were checked for pain at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients who received a timely and thorough pain assessment when pain was identified as a problem;
• Patients who were checked for shortness of breath at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients who got timely treatment for shortness of breath; and
• Patients taking opioid pain medication who were offered care for constipation.

The information on Hospice Compare can be used along with other information you gather about hospice providers in your area. In addition to reviewing the information on Hospice Compare, you’re encouraged to talk to your doctor, social worker, other healthcare providers, and other community resources when choosing the best hospice for care for you or your loved one.

In addition to Hospice Compare, Medicare also offers a number of other websites that can help you select providers and facilities to meet a wide range of care needs, including Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Compare; Long-Term Care Hospital Compare; Hospital Compare; Physician Compare; Nursing Home Compare; Medicare Plan Finder; Dialysis Compare; and Home Health Compare.

Filed under: Uncategorized

from Doctors Who Take Medicaid http://ift.tt/2v1HU46 via Doctors Who Take Medicaid in Colorado
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Finding a hospice provider just got easier

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working diligently to make healthcare quality information more transparent and understandable for consumers in all stages of life to empower them to take ownership of their healthcare choices. This includes decisions about end-of-life care, when consumers in a time of vulnerability need transparent, digestible information to make the best choice for their care or the care of their loved ones.

We at CMS understand that there are many difficult decisions that come with a terminal illness—including deciding if hospice is right for you and which hospice to choose—which is why we have launched Hospice Compare. This new website will help empower you by allowing you to easily and quickly compare hospice providers on various aspects of care and assess the quality of care that potential hospices provide.

Hospice Compare provides information on hospices across the nation and allows patients, family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers to compare hospice providers based on some key quality metrics, like what percentage of a hospice provider’s patients were screened for pain or difficult or uncomfortable breathing and if their patients’ preferences are being met. Specifically, the quality measures look at the percentages of patients who received recommended treatment, for example:

• Patients or caregivers who were invited to discuss treatment preferences, like hospitalization and resuscitation, at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients or caregivers who were invited to discuss beliefs and values at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients who were checked for pain at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients who received a timely and thorough pain assessment when pain was identified as a problem;
• Patients who were checked for shortness of breath at the beginning of hospice care;
• Patients who got timely treatment for shortness of breath; and
• Patients taking opioid pain medication who were offered care for constipation.

The information on Hospice Compare can be used along with other information you gather about hospice providers in your area. In addition to reviewing the information on Hospice Compare, you’re encouraged to talk to your doctor, social worker, other healthcare providers, and other community resources when choosing the best hospice for care for you or your loved one.

In addition to Hospice Compare, Medicare also offers a number of other websites that can help you select providers and facilities to meet a wide range of care needs, including Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Compare; Long-Term Care Hospital Compare; Hospital Compare; Physician Compare; Nursing Home Compare; Medicare Plan Finder; Dialysis Compare; and Home Health Compare.

Filed under: Uncategorized

from Doctors Who Take Medicaid http://ift.tt/2v1HU46 via Doctors Who Take Medicaid