On May 20, 2013, representatives from New York’s Medicaid program will bring a special program to residents of Chinatown to educate them about the Medicaid program and alert them to Medicaid fraud issues.  The Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, whose mission is to look for fraud and abuse within the Medicaid program, will be offering this presentation at 2 pm at the Chinese Community Center, located at 62 Mott Street in Manhattan.  The presentation is free of charge; translators for Cantonese and Mandarin speakers will be available. 

Medicaid fraud and abuse is a significant problem in New York.  This program will teach people who do not receive Medicaid on how they might be eligible to apply for Medicaid benefits.  Speakers will also inform the public about common scams and teach Medicaid consumers how to protect their Medicaid cards and themselves from becoming victims of Medicaid fraud.  The program will also teach the public how to identify Medicaid fraud and abuse and what the public can do to help stop it.  Attendees will also learn about a law that, under certain circumstances, enables people to get paid for bringing Medicaid fraud and abuse to the attention of a court.