Medicare Customer Service and Support

You should contact Medicare when you have questions or concerns about your Original Medicare coverage. If you have issues with a Medicare Advantage, Medigap or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, you should contact the company that administers your plan.

You can call Medicare any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including holidays) at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.

This is the main number for general information about Medicare. Customer service representatives can help with basic questions. But there are other numbers at Medicare or other federal and state agencies that can help with more specific questions or issues.

You can also use Medicare’s Helpful Contacts locator to look up contact information for dozens of state and federal agencies along with other organizations in your state.

Before calling Medicare, you’ll need to have several pieces of information readily available. This will help the customer service representative identify you and quickly address your questions or concerns.

You may also want to have a friend or family member listen in to the call on speakerphone. They should stay quiet but take notes for you so you can concentrate on the conversation with your customer service representative.

Also remember that you can request the information from Medicare in writing. Just ask for it at the end of your call.

You can have someone else call Medicare for you, but you will have to take some steps first. Medicare will not give out your private medical information to anyone who calls unless you first give Medicare permission to do so.

You will either have to speak to the customer service representative on the phone and confirm that he or she can speak to someone else on your behalf.

Or you can send an authorization form before the call.

If you mail in your authorization, it may take a few weeks before permission is granted.

You have the ability to choose how long this authorization will stay in effect. It can be as short as the one call or as long as a lifetime permission. This is helpful when you are caring for an elderly parent or a sick dependent and/or spouse. 

The Medicare customer service helpline may not have all the answers for Medicare Advantage, Medigap or Part D prescription drug plans. These plans are sold by private insurance companies under contract with Medicare.

You should look for contact information about your plan’s provider on the card you received from the insurer. Or you may need to look at the information you received about the plan when you first enrolled.

There are several ways to contact Medicare and receive information in a way you can understand and in an accessible form.

When you make a request, be sure to include your name, phone number, type of information you need and the mailing address where you want Medicare to send you the information.

You can also access all of Medicare’s print publications at the agency’s website. These may be a quick way for you to find the information you’re looking for.