Resource Library

Medicare Rights comments on medically necessary dental and mental health and substance use disorder provisions in the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule.

Medicare Rights comments in support of provisions in the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance proposed rule.

Medicare Rights comments in support of the Health and Human Services Grants Regulation proposed rule.

Last year, New York State passed a landmark budget that expanded income eligibility for Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), a long-overdue reform that the Medicare Rights Center championed alongside partner organizations, with the goal of increasing health access and economic security. Upon taking effect in January 2023, this expansion immediately made around 300,000 additional New Yorkers eligible for MSPs, programs that help enrollees afford Medicare premiums and other costs, and lead to automatic enrollment in the federal Extra Help drug subsidy.

Around half of people with Medicare get their health coverage from Original Medicare and the other half from Medicare Advantage, also known as a Medicare private health plan or Part C. Individual needs, preferences, and priorities typically guide these enrollment choices. This fact sheet outlines key considerations beneficiaries often keep in mind when deciding between the two coverage pathways.

Created in 1965, Medicare initially included Inpatient/Hospital insurance (Part A) and Outpatient/Medical insurance (Part B) and paid providers directly on a fee-for-service basis. The program has seen many legislative reforms over the years, including the addition of Medicare Advantage (Part C) in 1996. Although this change formally allowed enrollees to receive their Medicare benefits from a private insurance plan that contracts with the federal government, health plans have long played an important role in Medicare. In this fact sheet, we trace that evolution.