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Draft- ACL SMP Grantee Interview Protocol

Hello, [participant name].

Thank you for joining us to talk about the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program. My name 

is [insert staff name here]. I am from RTI International, a nonprofit research organization. I am 

joined by my colleague [insert staff name here]. Are we expecting anyone else to join from 

[interview participant organization]?

As you may recall from the invitation you received, ACL has contracted with RTI to better

understand the current successes and challenges of SMP program implementation, and ways to 

help grantees better focus on low-income and rural Medicare beneficiaries. We will use the term 

Medicare beneficiaries throughout our discussion with you, but that also includes individuals 

who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. 

I want to remind you that there are no right or wrong answers to the questions you are being 

asked. Your participation will not in any way affect your relationship with ACL or your current 

or future funding. Answers will simply help ACL better understand competing grantee priorities

and necessary additional support.

When we complete the interviews, we will share key parts of our notes with ACL. Since a key 

goal of these interviews is to gather information about program challenges and additional support 

that may be needed from ACL or the SMP Resource Center, your responses to our questions will 

be paired with your name and your program’s details. This is not to monitor you or your state’s 

individual performance, but rather to better understand competing grantee priorities, any 

challenges your program may be facing, and needs your program may have so ACL and the 

Center can better support you moving forward.

Before we begin, I would like to ask you for your permission to record our discussion. The 

recording is solely to assist us with our notetaking and will not be shared with anyone 

outside of the RTI evaluation team. The recording will be destroyed upon completion of 

this project. Do we have your permission to record?

Do you have any questions before we begin?

[At this point pause to turn the recording on if participant has agreed to be recorded.]

Participant role

Let’s please begin with a bit about your background. 

1. What is your role in your organization? What is your role within the SMP program? Does 

your organization provide SMP services in-house or do you subcontract SMP work out to 

outside organizations? 

2. Is your state SMP program located within the same organization (co-located) as the state’s 

SHIP program?
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Programmatic priorities for SMP activities

Let’s talk about SMP’s [Interviewer reads] official programmatic priorities:

• Providing group education and one-on-one assistance to Medicare beneficiaries on a

statewide basis. [Info for interviewer to clarify to participant; use only if needed after 

asking questions below: this includes outreach, education and assistance to specific types 

of beneficiaries such as rural and low-income beneficiaries.]

• Recruiting, training, and retaining a sufficient and effective team of volunteers, staff and 

partners to provide high-quality education and one-on-one support for Medicare 

beneficiaries.

• Monitoring and assessing SMP performance and results through operational and quality 

measures. [Info for interviewer to clarify to participant; use only if needed after asking 

questions below: how you collect data to assess program performance; how you use the

performance data to determine needed program changes.]

• Adapting your SMP program to nimbly respond to changes in the programmatic 

landscape/meet the needs of Medicare beneficiaries in your target area. [Info for 

interviewer to clarify to participant; use only if needed after asking questions below: This 

includes changes in the Medicare beneficiary population, changes in geographic 

distribution of beneficiaries, changes in public health need, varied beneficiary needs by 

age, and underserved target populations that may need additional assistance 

understanding how to prevent, detect, and report Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse.]

3. As your state’s SMP program leader, what do you see as your state’s top priority activities 

for the program? How do you make decisions on what to prioritize?

Successes and challenges in implementing program activities

4. What are the successes, or what has gone well in implementing your SMP program 

activities?

5. What are the challenges, or what has not gone so well?

[Possible probes for both questions above, use only if needed—successes/challenges with:

• implementing statewide coverage; providing one-on-one assistance, group education, and 

media outreach; establishing a partnership network

• recruiting, retaining, and managing volunteers, staff, and partners throughout the state; 

implementing and managing the Volunteer Risk and Program Management (VRPM) 

policies and procedures as outlined by ACL; equipping staff and volunteers with the 

information necessary to perform SMP work

• monitoring, reporting on, and assessing SMP results through operational and quality 

measures 

• responding to changes in the programmatic landscape; serving current or new target 

populations or using innovative methods to reach those populations

• Reaching low-income or rural Medicare beneficiaries
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• Collecting and reporting SMP data into SIRS. Probe on systems, capacity, understanding 

of requirements, etc.] 

Outreach and prevention efforts

6. What is the impact of your outreach and education efforts on Medicare beneficiaries?

7. Approximately how much effort and time do you spend on fraud prevention efforts as 

compared to detection and reporting?

Successes and challenges in reaching low-income or rural Medicare beneficiaries [if not 

already discussed above]

8. ACL is particularly interested in your experience in reaching low-income or rural Medicare 

beneficiaries.

a. How do your outreach activities attempt to reach individuals who are low-income or 

rural? 

b. Let’s talk about each of these populations separately. First, have you had any particular 

successes in reaching low-income beneficiaries? Please describe and give examples.

c. Have there been any challenges reaching the low-income population? Please describe 

and give examples.

d. How about rural beneficiaries? Have you had any particular successes in reaching rural 

beneficiaries? Please describe and give examples.

e. Have there been any challenges reaching rural beneficiaries? Please describe and give 

examples.

Additional support needed

9. ACL is also interested in learning more about support that you get and need for your

program activities.

a. What kind of support are you getting now from ACL?

b. What kind of support are you getting from the SMP Resource Center?

c. What could be improved in the kinds of support you get, and how you get that support?

d. Do you need any additional support from ACL to do your program activities? If so, 

please describe. [Probe on what activities you need help with (e.g., outreach, data 

reporting, SMP workforce/team training), the best way for you to get support, etc. Also 

probe on support to reach low-income or rural Medicare beneficiaries.]

e. Do you need any additional support from the SMP Resource Center to do your program 

activities? If so, please describe. [Probe on what activities you need help with (e.g., 

outreach, data reporting, SMP workforce/team training), the best way for you to get 

support. Also probe on support to reach low-income or rural Medicare beneficiaries.]

Program data collection and reporting

10. Do you regularly review your state’s data that are reported in SIRS? [If grantee says “yes] 

How often do you conduct your data review?
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11. How do you use your state’s SIRS data to help make decisions on program priorities and 

activities? (Probe on how they decide on shifts in prioritized activities, staff count, staff 

hours, number of education/outreach events). 

Closing

12. What are your thoughts on your overall performance? Your overall performance may 

include education and outreach efforts, performance measure totals, SMP casework 

processing workload, and other SMP activities. Are there any areas you feel you’re doing 

well in? Areas where you have challenges?

13. Is there is anything that I have not asked about that we should know or anything else you 

would like to share with us?

Public Burden Statement: 

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a

collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number (OMB 

0985-xxxx). Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average

1.26 hours per response, including time for gathering and maintaining the data needed and 

completing and reviewing the collection of information.