Recommendations to Improve the Medicare Enrollment System for Consumers
An often-reported fact is that 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 and become Medicare-eligible each day. Less well known, and commonly misunderstood, are the rules concerning how to enroll in Medicare. While most newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries are automatically enrolled, others must make a proactive choice to enroll in one or multiple parts of the program, including Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. Through its direct service and educational programming, the Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) regularly hears from older adults and people with disabilities who erred during this transition and struggle to cope with the consequences. In this report, Medicare Rights details common enrollment challenges facing people new to the Medicare program and the policy solutions to simplify Medicare enrollment and ensure that fewer people make costly enrollment mistakes.
Any changes to the Medicare program must aim for healthier people, better care, and smarter spending—not paying more for less. As policymakers debate the future of health care, we will provide our insights here.
Thinking ahead to Medicare's future, it’s important to modernize benefits and pursue changes that improve how people with Medicare navigate their coverage on a daily basis. Here are our evolving 30 policy goals for Medicare’s future.
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Help us honor 35 years of making Medicare more affordable, accessible, and equitable. Sign up to receive special alerts with ways to support our 35 years of service to older adults and people with disabilities. Learn more at www.medicarerights.org/35.
