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Where Can I Find Answers to My Medicare Questions?

5 resources (and 2 more to consider) help you discover straightforward solutions to your most-asked queries

4.5-minute read

Kim Lankford,

Updated June 30, 2025

AARP

Reviewed by

Claire Noël-Miller, MPA, Ph.D.

Published June 01, 2022

/ Updated June 30, 2025

AARP (Source: Getty Images (2)

Key takeaways

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services runs Medicare.
The Social Security Administration handles enrollment.
State Health Insurance Assistance Programs offer personal help.
Medicare Rights Center counselors also answer questions.
AARP has stories, tutorials, webinars, videos and a Help Center.
Each state’s insurance department regulates Medigap plans.

Medicare can be complicated.

But several great resources can help you get answers to your Medicare questions — whether you want to know more about costs, coverage, eligibility, enrollment or how to choose supplemental policies.

1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, runs the Medicare program. Its Medicare.gov website offers information about:

How Medicare works
What it covers
What it costs
When to enroll
How to request payment for a Medicare service
How to appeal a coverage or payment decision
How to buy private insurance policies that can fill in some out-of-pocket costs

The entire website is available in English and Spanish. To switch to Spanish, click on Cambiar a español in the upper right corner of your screen.

The Medicare & You handbook, updated annually, explains what Medicare covers, how it works, when you need to sign up and any changes to the rules. It and other print publications are available in more than two dozen languages.

Review and compare options. The Medicare Plan Finder is the best way to find out about costs and coverage for Part D prescription drug plans, private Medicare Advantage plans and Medigap supplemental insurance policies in your area. This holds true whether you’re choosing a plan when you’re first enrolling in Medicare or during open enrollment each year.

Medicare offers a similar service to help you search for and compare health care providers, including dialysis centers, doctors and home health care services.

Talk by phone or online. If you have questions about Medicare rules, coverage and claims, call Medicare’s help line at 800-633-4227, which spells 800-MEDICARE, or use the Live Chat function, which is generally available 24/7 except for some federal holidays. Information is available in about two dozen languages, including Spanish and Chinese.

2. Social Security Administration

Even though CMS runs the Medicare program, the Social Security Administration (SSA) handles Medicare enrollment, deductions of the Part B and potentially Part D premiums from Social Security monthly payments and changing your address. You can enroll in Medicare on the Social Security website during your initial enrollment period or a special enrollment period, or you can visit an SSA office to sign up.

The agency can help with questions about enrolling in Medicare and your eligibility; applying for the Part D prescription Extra Help program, which provides financial assistance for Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes and assets; and contesting high-income surcharges for your Medicare premiums, known as an income-related monthly adjustment amount.

Join AARP’s fight to protect Social Security

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The national toll-free phone number is 800-772-1213. It operates 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time weekdays. You can also visit your local Social Security office.

Because of recent staff and service cuts at the agency, be prepared for long hold times if you call and long wait times if you drop in. Social Security Administration officials suggest making an appointment if you want to talk to a representative face-to-face.

Courtesy State Health Insurance Assistance Program

3. State Health Insurance Assistance Programs

State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) are available in every state plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These federally financed programs provide personal help from trained counselors on all Medicare issues.

More than 12,500 SHIP counselors at more than 2,200 sites provide free one-on-one consultations, seminars and outreach programs, especially during the Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 Medicare annual open enrollment period. They can answer questions over the phone, in person or online.

Search online for a SHIP in your area or call 877-839-2675.

4. Medicare Rights Center

The Medicare Rights Center has been helping people navigate Medicare for more than 35 years. Counselors can answer questions about Medicare rules, deadlines, enrollment, choices and claims. They are available through the organization’s national helpline at 800-333-4114.

This nonprofit also runs the Medicare Interactive website, which explains in detail how Medicare works and answers frequently asked questions about the program.

5. AARP's Medicare resources

AARP’s Medicare resource center has stories that explain how Medicare works, tell you about the program’s latest developments and go into more depth on specific questions. Its Medicare Enrollment Guide introduces you and your friends to the health care benefit that covers 1 in 5 Americans.

Among the other resources you’ll find:

Step-by-step tutorials on using Medicare’s Plan Finder to learn about Medicare Advantage, Medigap and Part D prescription drug plans in your area.
On-demand webinars that teach you about key deadlines and factors to consider as you approach Medicare age and deal with this program for the rest of your life.
Videos that give a quick overview on issues and clarify the complexity of Medicare. They accompany relevant articles, and AARP’s YouTube channel also has a Medicare Explained playlist.

Have additional Medicare questions? Head to the AARP Help Center, available online 24/7. The chat feature can answer questions you type in. If you prefer to talk to a Help Center representative, call 888-687-2277 — or 877-342-2277 for Spanish speakers —, toll free 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time weekdays.

AARP answers a limited number of Medicare questions in each AARP Bulletin, printed six times a year. Write to medicare@aarp.org.

Keep in mind

Your state insurance department has helpful information even though Medicare is a federal program.

The departments have some jurisdiction over supplemental Medigap policies, which help cover original Medicare’s deductibles and copays. Most state insurance department websites have price lists and contact information for insurers selling Medigap policies in the state, as well as state-specific Medigap rules.

States’ Medicaid programs also play an important role for those who have coverage from both Medicare and Medicaid, often called dual eligibles.

This story, originally published June 2, 2022, has been updated with the latest information.

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About the author

Kimberly Lankford is a contributing writer who covers Medicare and personal finance. She wrote about insurance, Medicare, retirement and taxes for more than 20 years at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and has written for The Washington Post and Boston Globe. She received the personal finance Best in Business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the New York State Society of CPAs’ excellence in financial journalism award for her guide to Medicare.

About the reviewer

Claire Noël-Miller, senior strategic policy adviser for Medicare at the AARP Public Policy Institute, previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher and a research associate at the Center for the Demography of Health and Aging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned her master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University and her doctorate in demography from the University of Pennsylvania.