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Breaking a Language Barrier to Enroll in Medicare

If you're not fluent in English, ask for translation services—Medicare issues are difficult enough for even native English-speakers to comprehend.

by: Patricia Barry, from: AARP Bulletin, May 18, 2009

The Ms. Medicare Archive

Have a question about Medicare? There's a good chance Ms. Medicare has already provided the answer you need.

Check out the Q&As featured in the Ask Ms. Medicare Archive.

If the information you’re looking for isn’t there, email your query to msmed@aarp.org. Be sure to include your name, age, state and ZIP code. Your name will not be published.

Q. My friend is a U.S. citizen but not fluent in English. She spoke to four Social Security officials about enrolling in Medicare, but didn’t understand there was a deadline. Now she’s told she must pay a late penalty. Can she ask Social Security to reconsider, given she’s in this fix because of a language problem? … Back to Article