New Booklets Help Medicare Recipients Assert Their Rights

Medicare and Employer Insurance: How They Work Together and Your Appeal Rights: Getting the Most from Medicare. Medicare Rights Center, New York.

'Medicare and Employer Insurance: How They Work Together' is for those who have health insurance through an employer and are also eligible for Medicare. The booklet explains when to enroll in Medicare, how to avoid late-enrollment penalties, and in which order Medicare or employer insurance will pay benefits when a worker retires. A chart helps beneficiaries determine whether Medicare is the 'primary or secondary' payer.

'Your Appeal Rights: Getting the Most from Medicare' tells how to appeal when Medicare does not pay for doctor services, hospital stays, skilled nursing services, home health care, lab tests, ambulances and equipment. The Medicare Rights Center says that only about 2 percent of Medicare recipients appeal denials of care, but when they do they win more care 80 percent of the time.

The booklets are $5 each, plus shipping and handling. You can order from the group's Web site at www.medicarerights.org, or write to: Medicare Rights Center, 1460 Broadway, 11th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10036.

For more on appealing Medicare decisions, visit our Medicare section.