LIHU‘E — Senior Medicare Patrol assistant Laurie Paleka shook her head when several participants at a Medicare fraud prevention meeting raised their hands on Saturday when asked if they had their Medicare cards with them. “We encourage you to keep
LIHU‘E — Senior Medicare Patrol assistant Laurie Paleka shook her head when several participants at a Medicare fraud prevention meeting raised their hands on Saturday when asked if they had their Medicare cards with them.
“We encourage you to keep your Medicare card in a safe place,” Paleka said at a Kaua‘i‘ Medicare Fraud Prevention Town Hall meeting.
“They are just as important to thieves as a credit card,” she told an audience of more than 30 people.
Paleka also warned participants to not offer their Medicare card numbers by telephone. Sometimes seniors will receive a telephone call from someone claiming to be calling from a Medicare office, she said.
“Protect, detect and report,” she told them to remember when receiving a suspicious telephone call.
The Kaua‘i Agency on Elderly Affairs hosted the free meeting at Elsie Wilcox Elementary School cafeteria, along with the volunteer-based Hawai‘i Senior Medicare Patrol with support from the Kaua‘i Filipino Community Council.
The Kaua‘i workshop was the first of four meetings scheduled throughout the state.
Meetings are especially focusing on Ilocano-speaking Medicare beneficiaries who have limited English proficiency. Materials provided at Saturday’s meeting with the help of the State Office of Language Access were in English and Ilocano, which is spoken in parts of the Philippines.
“I think it is most important to make sure everyone can be educated and take care of themselves,” Honolulu City Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard said during a lunch break.
“It’s not just for the seniors. It’s for all of us,” said Gabbard, who is campaigning for the congressional seat of U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai‘i, who is running for the Senate.
Kaua‘i Police Sgt. Paul Applegate told meeting participants to “trust your instincts” and report suspicious activities.
“We need to get information out to the community to empower them to be safe,” Applegate said.
Adele Ching, the state’s Senior Medicare Patrol coordinator, said Medicare fraud has a “ripple effect,” causing families to suffer and ultimately costing Medicare $60 billion a year in losses.
The Senior Medicare Patrol is a volunteer-based program created under the U.S. Administration on Aing that operates in Hawai‘i through the state’s Executive Office on Aging.
Lunch Saturday was donated by Tiano’s Restaurant and Bar, Mama Lucy and Ilocandia Restaurant, Rick & Jayda’s Bakery & Foods Etc. and Kaua‘i Bakery and Cinnamon.
For more information about the state’s Senior Medicare Patrol, call (800) 296-9422.
