Medicare News
| For Immediate Release: | Contact: |
| Wednesday, February 02, 2000 | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
For questions about Medicare please call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. |
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CLAYTON COUNTY RESIDENT HONORED FOR HELP GIVEN TO GEORGIA MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES
A Clayton County, Ga., resident has been honored for her exceptional work in helping Medicare beneficiaries get the information they need about managed care.
Rhonda K. Smith, who lives in Jonesboro, is a health insurance specialist in the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid. She received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' outstanding employee award for January from HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala and HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle.
A 10-year HCFA employee, Smith works in HCFA's Atlanta regional office, where she has handled numerous inquiries from beneficiaries in the eight-state region, including Georgia. Many questions involve Medicare managed care plans and enrollment. Beneficiaries also want to know how managed care differs from traditional fee-for-service arrangements.
"Rhonda Smith is an excellent example of the dedicated and compassionate HCFA employees who answer beneficiary questions across the country," DeParle said. "Like many of our employees, she often goes the extra mile to help our beneficiaries."
Medicare covers about 39 million elderly or disabled Americans nationwide, including 7.8 million in the eight-state Atlanta region and 885,000 in Georgia.
Smith has explained Medicare managed care to beneficiaries on the phone, through letters and at discussion groups in local communities. When a beneficiary asks for assistance, it may be about membership issues in the HMO, which she helps to resolve. Smith also may provide additional information to a Medicare HMO about a beneficiary or contact another agency or social services for additional assistance.
Under managed care, Medicare beneficiaries may choose to enroll in prepaid health care plans, such as HMOs, that participate in Medicare instead of receiving services under fee for service. Congress created Medicare+Choice in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to expand the types of health care options available to Medicare beneficiaries. To provide more information, HCFA also offers assistance to beneficiaries and their families across the country through the national toll-free phone number -- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
"We are proud of Rhonda and her efforts to assist our beneficiaries," said Rose Crum-Johnson, HCFA regional administrator in Atlanta. "Her outstanding accomplishments epitomize the strong commitment to customer service we have in this region. She is a shining example of our motto -- 'every employee is an ambassador.'"
"Medicare beneficiaries may not understand how to navigate through the system to have a problem resolved so I act as a liaison," Smith said. "I find it important to take the time to explain as much as possible, as simply as possible. Beneficiaries are also interested in learning about the changes in Medicare, so I have become more involved in making presentations out in the community about the options."
A Georgia native, Smith received a bachelor's degree in 1990 from Spelman College in Atlanta.
