New Medicare App to Explain Coverage

On January 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of a new mobile app called “What’s Covered” to help consumers understand which items and services are covered by Medicare. The app is part of the eMedicare Initiative, launched in October 2018 to modernize the delivery of information about the program.

CMS receives frequent inquiries about what Medicare covers, including over three million calls per year to its 1-800-MEDICARE number, which the new app should help to reduce. CMS projects that the Medicare population will increase by almost 50 percent by 2030, to more than 80 million beneficiaries.

Other eMedicare tools include the ability to compare coverage options and costs between Medicare and Medicare Advantage, price transparency tools, a webchat option in the Medicare Plan Finder, and online surveys for consumer input.