Medicare and Navigating Customer Service
It is very common for questions or concerns to arise when it comes to one’s health coverage. When it comes to Medicare, beneficiaries may not know how to go about getting those questions or concerns answered. The easiest way is simply to call, as Medicare customer service and support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are a few other options and some things to keep in mind before calling.
Reasons to Contact Medicare
If you have questions or concerns about your Original Medicare coverage, that is the time to contact Medicare customer service. Medicare customer service representatives should be able to help with several issues including billing, claims, medical supplies and equipment, outpatient doctor care, and preventive services to name a few. Issues regarding a Medicare Advantage plan, Medigap/Supplement plan or a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan should be handled by the private insurance company your plan is administered by.
How to Contact Medicare Customer Service
You can call Medicare at (1-800-633-4227) (TTY 1-877-486-2048) for help with basic questions. It is important to note that there are other numbers at Medicare and other federal and state agencies that can help with more specific questions. Other ways to reach out to Medicare with questions include logging into your secure medicare.gov account and the medicare.gov site also has a live chat function available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When contacting Medicare customer service with concerns or questions, it is always a good idea to have pertinent information readily available in order to speed up the process. Some things to have at the ready include your red, white and blue Medicare card, bills that you may or may not have already paid if you are calling about a claim, dates of medical services, and doctor’s or provider’s names.
If you need someone else to contact Medicare on your behalf, there are some steps that you will need to take first as Medicare will not give out your private medical information unless you have given them permission to do so. You can either speak with someone in customer service to confirm that they can speak to someone for you, or the other option is to send in an authorization form before the call. The Authorization to Disclose Personal Health Information can be filled out online and can be found by visiting cms.gov, or a signed paper copy can be mailed in.
These are some general tips for navigating customer service when you have Original Medicare but if you are still not quite sure who to contact, we are here to help. Our agents here at VibrantUSA are available year-round to answer questions and can point you in the right direction.
