BP Adams To Launch BoroWide Scam Detection Patrol For Medicare/Medicaid
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and Brooklyn-Wide Interagency Council on Aging (BWICA) Director Maria Alvarez will launch a boroughwide patrol next week to combat more than $600 million annually in Medicare and Medicaid fraud in Brooklyn.
The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) will educate older Brooklynites on how to detect and protect themselves from potential Medicare or Medicaid abuse, errors, or fraud through presentations and informational materials translated into multiple languages, including Chinese, Haitian Creole, Russian, and Spanish. The patrol’s will also include a community engagement effort with outreach to civic organizations, health care facilities, houses of worship, senior centers, and other local groups.
According to a report from the office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), fraudulent activities have ranged from the use of stolen Medicare numbers or lying about eligibility to providers billing for services never provided/received or dispensing generic drugs billed at name-brand prices.
Additionally, two months ago, the CEO of Midwood-based Hopeton Care was indicted by the Office of the New York State Attorney General for embezzling an estimated $11 million in Medicaid funds. Brooklyn is the county where taxpayers lose the most in all of New York State, according to estimates based on Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data.
Adams and BWICA are partnering with New York State-Wide Senior Action Council on a five-year federal grant to administer the SMP at the Shorefront YM-YWHA in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood with a high incidence rate of Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Shorefront YM-YWHA, at 3300 Coney Island Avenue in Brighton Beach.
Clarke Named Senior Whip For The 116th Congress
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D- Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Park Slope) announced yesterday that she was appointed to serve as a Senior Whip for the 116th Congress.
Senior Whips are a group of seasoned Members and Caucus opinion leaders who meet on an ongoing basis to discuss some of the key issues facing Congress. Senior Whips bring a balance and diverse perspective to the Whip Operation, which is necessary to tackle some of the more complex pieces of legislation that will be put forward in the 116th Congress.
Additionally, Clarke was elected Vice Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee in January and will also serve as a Co-Chair of the Medicare For All Caucus during this Congress.
“It is an honor to serve as a Senior Whip alongside Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and our colleagues. I look forward to working together on issues and important legislation that impact our respective Districts and promote our shared Democratic values,” said Clarke.
“I am delighted to use my leadership within the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and experience within the House Homeland Security Committee to best serve the most diverse Caucus in American history, as well as the nation that we love,” added Clarke.
Fed Lawmakers To Unveil Never Forget The Heroes Act, Permanent Funding For 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Act
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), alongside Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) and Jerrold Nadler (D-Western Brooklyn, Western Manhattan), will join Jon Stewart and 9/11 Responders and Survivors to introduce the bipartisan Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act and call for its swift passage next week.
The bipartisan legislation would ensure that all 9/11 first responders and survivors who have been injured by the toxins at Ground Zero and have certified 9/11 illnesses would receive their full compensation through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) now and into the future as more become ill with 9/11 cancers. The bill would also close the funding gap recently announced by the VCF Special Master.
On February 15, 2019, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund announced that due to a funding shortfall, injured and ill 9/11 responders and survivors will receive cuts to the awards that they were expecting of 50% for pending claims and 70% for future claims.
The measure is designed to ensure that the VCF is fully funded and will remain open for those that will become ill in the future.
In the years since 9/11/2001, thousands of 9/11 responders and survivors have become ill and many have lost their lives from exposure to a toxic cocktail of burning chemicals, pulverized drywall and powdered cement that was present at Ground Zero.
