Educational Tools
Know Your Rights
As a Medicare beneficiary, you have certain rights and protections designed to protect you when you get medical treatment and care, make sure you get the health care services the law says you can get, protect you against unethical practices, and protect your privacy.
Check out this official Medicare Rights and Protections government booklet that has important information about your rights and; protections in:
- Original Medicare;
- Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare health plans;
- Medicare Prescription Drug Plans; and
- Where to get help with your questions.
Beneficiaries
A Medicare beneficiary is a person who has health care insurance through the Medicare program administered through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Medicare is a health insurance program designed to assist the nation’s elderly to meet hospital, medical, and other health costs. Medicare is available to most individuals 65 years of age and older. Medicare has also been extended to persons under age 65 who are receiving disability benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board, and those having End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
Appeals
An appeal by a Medicare beneficiary or a beneficiary’s representative is the action that can be taken if a Medicare beneficiary or a beneficiary’s representative disagrees with a coverage or payment decision by Medicare or a Medicare plan. Click here for more information on the appeals process.
Complaints
A complaint by a Medicare beneficiary or a beneficiary’s representative can be made alleging that the quality of services received by the beneficiary did not meet professionally recognized standards of care. Click here for more information on the complaint process.
Beneficiary Resources
- I have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
- ESRD National Coordinating Center – Patients
- NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- CDC Chronic Kidney Disease: Common – Serious – Costly
- What Kidney Patients Need to Know about the COVID-19 Vaccine
- Que Deben Saber los Pacientes Renales Sobre la Vacuna para COVID-19
- Kidney failure, end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) or end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
- ESRD Medicare basics
Providers
A provider is an organization, institution, or individual that provides health care services to Medicare beneficiaries. Some examples of providers are hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, outpatient physical therapy, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, end-stage renal disease facilities, hospice, physicians, non-physician providers, laboratories, suppliers, etc.
Provider Resources
- CDC Healthcare Workers: Information on COVID-19
- Coronavirus Partner Resources
- Hospital Operations Toolkit for COVID-19
- Toolkit on State Actions to Mitigate COVID-19 Prevalence in Nursing Homes
- Long-term Care Facility Toolkit
- Find COVID-19 Vaccines Near You
- CDC COVID-19 Vaccines and Immunizations
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Official Government Website
- Achieving Health Equity Video Series
- Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities (2016)
- Achieving Health Equity Through Community Engagement in Translating Evidence to Policy: The San Francisco Health Improvement Partnership (2016)
- The Road to Equity: Examining Structural Racism in Health Care Virtual Forum
Learning Opportunities
The following webinars are available to help you learn more about issues important to people with Medicare and their representatives, families, and caregivers.