Congressman Gregory W. Meeks On New Outreach Campaign to Protect Seniors from Scams and Medicare Fraud

Press Release

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-6), Senior Member of the House Committee on Financial Services and Chairman of its Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade, is pleased to announce the implementation of a new outreach campaign to protect seniors from scams and Medicare Fraud. An educational media campaign will be launched this summer to educate Medicare beneficiaries about the importance of staying vigilant with their personal Medicare information and getting the facts about the new law to seniors so that scam artists are not able to prey on them. In addition, the new reform law significantly increases the tools and resources to fight Medicare fraud and redirect wasted dollars back to seniors' care.

"There has been a great deal of misinformation about health care reform and many of our seniors don't fully understand their complete benefits under this legislation. Many of our seniors are also preyed upon and have been cheated out of their benefits in the past. I and my democratic colleagues in Congress are working with President Obama to implement a new outreach campaign to protect seniors and taxpayers from scams and Medicare fraud by giving them the necessary tools to receive the critical information they need to protect themselves from scams or fraud when it comes to their Medicare benefits," stated Congressman Meeks.

Later this week seniors who have fallen into the Medicare Part D "donut hole' coverage gap will begin to receive the $250 checks to lower their prescription drug costs. More than 4 million seniors who face the donut hole will get checks throughout the rest of the year. The first $250 checks are being mailed June 10 to Medicare beneficiaries who entered the Medicare Part D "donut hole", also known as the coverage gap, in the first quarter of 2010. The donut hole is the period in the prescription drug benefit in which the beneficiary pays 100 percent of the cost of their drugs until they hit the catastrophic coverage.

"The more educated our nation's seniors are about health reform, the better protected they will be from fraud and scams and the more informed they will be to take advantage of their benefits. It is important that our seniors know that the Affordable Care Act will provide better primary care, lower drug costs, provide access to free preventive care, extend the Medicare Solvency Trust Fund to ensure that Medicare can cover every American as they get older and provide tighter oversight," said Meeks. Meeks also added, "Our seniors have worked extremely hard all of their lives and it is of critical importance that they are granted the benefits that they have worked hard for. I will continue to work with my Democratic colleagues in Congress and President Obama to ensure that all seniors are aware of this new outreach campaign to protect their healthcare benefits," said Congressman Meeks.

Now serving in his sixth full-term, Meeks was elected to the House on February 3, 1998. Representing New York's Sixth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, Meeks' district covers all towns of Southeast Queens, Far Rockaway and Howard Beach. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Congressman Meeks is the Chairman of the International Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. He is a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), New Democrats Coalition and the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He serves as the Co-chair of the Malaysia Caucus, Services Caucus, Dialogue Caucus, OAS Caucus and the Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus.

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