The New Medicare.gov: Making Medicare Information Clearer & Simpler

Did you notice something new today? Medicare.gov has a new design that makes it faster and easier for you to answer your Medicare questions.

We know Medicare.gov is your trusted source of online Medicare information.  That’s why we worked more than 2 years improving the things you use most. We did interviews and focus groups with people like you and the people who help you with your Medicare questions to help us find out what matters most to you. And, we used that feedback to make the website better.

The new Medicare.gov includes features not available before, like:

• Many ways for you to do the most common tasks, like finding out about costs, coverage, and plans, through several paths — right from the homepage
• Action-oriented labels to help you get the information you want faster
•  Design that works on mobile devices, like tablets and smartphones, so you can get information anytime, anywhere, and in the most convenient format for you

The new Medicare.gov is just one of our efforts over the past year to make it easier for you to understand your Medicare. Whether it’s putting our information in simple, straightforward language so you can understand it the first time you read it or improving the design of the “Medicare Summary Notice ” so you can better understand your Medicare claims,  we’re committed to making Medicare information clearer and simpler.

Check it out and tell us how we did—send us a tweet (use #medicaredotgov)

Protect Your Health with Covered Shots

You take your car for scheduled maintenance service just to make sure it’s fine, right? And, like most of us, you have things like car and homeowners insurance just in case you need it. Shouldn’t you take just as much precaution with yourself to make sure you stay healthy? Keeping your immune system strong is a lifelong, life-protecting job, but we’ve got you covered. Your Medicare preventive benefits include 3 shots:

1.       Flu Shots—Covered once a flu season in the fall or winter.
2.       Hepatitis B Shots—Covered for people at high or medium risk for Hepatitis B (usually a series of 3 shots).
3.       Pneumococcal Shot—Covered to help prevent pneumococcal infections (like certain types of pneumonia). Most people only need this shot once in their lifetime.

Getting your shots has never been easier. As we approach the fall season, you’ll see these shots offered in many places, such as your local pharmacy, so make sure you take advantage of them. As long as the supplier or doctor accepts assignment for giving the shot, you pay nothing.

You’re way more important than your car or house so make the time to stay healthy.