HCFA created the National

Medicare Education Program, a comprehensive

communications effort to help Medicare beneficiaries

better understand the new Medicare program. The education

program includes expande3d and updated print materials

such as the Medicare&You handbook, the

toll-free telephone line, and a beneficiary-oriented

Internet website - www.medicare.gov , as well as a

coordinated partenership program with more than 200

national and local oraganizations who work with Medicare

beneficiaries. The program also includes an extensive

evaluation component designed to help HCFA learn from

beneficiaries and the people who help them with their

health care decisions about how they want to receive

information.

Callers to 1-800-MEDICARE

(1-800-633-4227) can talk to a customer service

representative in English or Spanish between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday to get:

- general information

about Medicare;

- updated information

about Medicare health plan options in their community,

including original fee-for-service Medicare and, where

available, managed care;

- specific quality and

satisfaction information about managed care plans;

- general information

about Medicare supplemental insuranace (Medigap); and

- telephone numbers

for help with a variety of related issues, such as

billing questions about Medicare claims or for help with

more complex questions about health insurance.

The toll-free phone line is

open 24 hours a day, sevend days a week. During

non-business hours, callers can access an automated line

to:

- request Medicare&You

handbooks or audio tapes in English or Spanish,

- request updated

information about health plans available in their area,

- listen to

pre-recorded answers to other frequently asked questions.

Callers with access to a

teletypewriter (TTY) or telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD), can call 1-877-486-2048.

The Balanced budget Act of

1997 created the Medicar+Choice program to expand the

range of health care options availabel to Medicare

beneficiaries and provide them with credible and unbiased

information they can use to make informed decisions about

how they want to receive their health care.

Up-to-date information

about Medicare managed care options in 1999 can be

obtained from 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or in

Medicare Compare at www.medicare.gov . Many

libraries and senior centers can help beneficiaries

obtain information from this source. Beneficiaries can

also contact the joint federal and state supported State

Health Insurance Assistance Program at 1-800-669-8387

for free, unbiased insurance counseling.

"Beneficiaries who

have called 1-800-MEDICARE in the first five states where

it has been available have told us they like talking to a

person who can answer their questions," said

DeParle. "They also want to be reassured that if

they are happy with how they currently get their health

care, they don't have to make any changes at all."

1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) was first avialable in

Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Washington.

<!--

##############