Medicare account login

You sit down to check one claim, and the Medicare username and password you have always used do not work. If that account was ever connected to one of the identity services, Medicare states plainly that you can no longer log in with your existing Medicare username or password.

How do I log in to my Medicare account?

You log in to your secure Medicare account through one of three identity services. Medicare states these are free, secure services that verify your identity. Verifying helps prevent fraud and makes sure you are the only one who can reach your information.

Verifying helps prevent fraud and makes sure you are the only one who can reach your information.

The three services are ID.me, CLEAR and Login.gov, and Medicare names all three on its own help page.

The login you already have is the one you are about to lose. That reading is this publication's rather than a rule Medicare prints in one place, and three of Medicare's own facts produce it.

Medicare says that if you already have a Medicare account, you can connect it to one of these secure services. It separately says that once you connect it, you can no longer log in to your Medicare account using your existing Medicare username or password.

And it separately says that if you are unable to create or connect your account using one of these services, you contact the service you would like to use, or visit their help page.

So the account keeps your record and changes its doorkeeper. Those three facts are Medicare's. Reading them together is ours.

Two smaller points make the first login less alarming. Medicare states that you will not need to verify your identity each time you log in, so the document check does not repeat every time you open the account.

Medicare also states that Login.gov, ID.me and CLEAR will not sell your data, and that all of your health information stays with Medicare. The identity company confirms who you are. It does not become the holder of your record, which stays where it always was.

What can I see there?

A Medicare account holds your Medicare claims. Medicare states that you can print that record or share it with someone you trust. It also states that all of your health information stays with Medicare rather than with the service you logged in through.

Take that second sentence at face value. The identity service checks who you are, and Medicare says your health information does not go with it.

Here is what the account is for, and what has to be true before any of it works.

What you want to do	Does the account do it	What it needs first
See your Medicare claims	Yes, across Part A, Part B and Part D	Your Medicare Number, which comes after you sign up
Print or share a claim record	Yes, to print or to share with someone you trust	An account you have already verified
See everything in a Medicare Advantage plan	No, the data covers only your drug claims	Ask your plan what apps it offers

The third row is the trap. Medicare states that if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, your data will only include claims for your drugs.

The first row carries a different one, and it is about sequence. Medicare states that even if you already have an account with ID.me, CLEAR or Login.gov, you cannot create a Medicare account until you have your Medicare Number.

Medicare names the three parts as it goes. Part A is hospital insurance, Part B is medical insurance, and Part D is a Medicare drug plan.

None of this is available until the account exists, and creating one asks for rather more than an email address.

How do I create an account?

You create a Medicare account through the same three services, and you need your Medicare Number first. Medicare states that even if you already hold an account with one of those services, you cannot create a Medicare account until you have that number, which arrives after you sign up for Medicare.

Verification then asks for documents, and Medicare lists what you will be asked to supply.

• A picture of your REAL ID US driver's license, a state issued photo ID, or your US passport
• Your Social Security Number
• A photo or video of yourself

If you do not have any of those documents but you do have other US documents, Medicare states that ID.me may still be able to verify your identity.

There is an in person route, and it is not offered by all three services. Medicare states that you can only verify your identity in person if you use ID.me, at places like the UPS store, or Login.gov, at the US Post Office.

The in person route still begins at a screen. You start the process online using a desktop computer or a smartphone, then follow the instructions to go to a physical location, taking your identity documents and your QR code or registration code with you.

One instruction is easy to skip past and Medicare puts it plainly. To help prevent fraud and keep your personal health information private, do not use an email address you share with a spouse, family member or anyone else.

Medicare's instruction is about the address itself, and Medicare gives its own reason for it: preventing fraud and keeping your personal health information private.

Once the account exists, the claims are sitting behind it.

How do I view my claims?

Your Medicare claims sit inside the account and you reach them by logging in. Medicare states that you can access and share all your Part A, Part B and Part D claims with doctors and others you choose. What you see depends on which kind of Medicare you have.

Medicare attaches a condition to that sentence. The sharing runs by linking your data to apps Medicare has authorized, which is the mechanism rather than an extra permission you apply for.

For Original Medicare, Medicare names all three parts in the same sentence. Hospital claims, medical claims and drug claims are covered by the one statement.

For a Medicare Advantage Plan it is narrower. Medicare states that if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, your data will only include claims for your drugs.

Medicare does not leave that as a dead end. It adds that you can check with your plan to find out whether it offers apps that let you access and share your health data.

Once you are looking at a claim, Medicare states that you can download the data to print it or to share it with someone you trust to help you. For what to do when a charge on a notice looks wrong, this publication's page on the Medicare Summary Notice carries the steps.

Printing and sharing both start from the same place, and the mechanics of getting the file out are worth knowing before you need them.

Can I download my records?

You can download your Medicare claims data from your account. Medicare states that if you create a Medicare account, you can download it to your computer or device, to print it or to share it with someone you trust to help you. An optional service sends it to apps instead.

That optional service is called Blue Button. Medicare describes it as secure, reliable and easy to use, and the way it works is that you pick each app you want, sign up, and give that app access to your data.

The control that matters comes after. Medicare states that you can log into your Medicare account to stop sharing your data with an app at any time, so giving access is not a one way decision the way connecting the account is.

Medicare then gives three instructions for keeping a downloaded file safe, and asks you to treat it like banking or other private information you do not want everyone to see.

• Keep your username and password private and do not share them
• Keep paper copies in a safe and secure place
• Carefully review any apps or other services before importing your data

There is a number to call if something has already gone wrong. Medicare states that you should call 1-800-MEDICARE if you think your information may have been downloaded by someone else, or if you need help to stop sharing your data with an app.

All of that assumes you got in. The harder question is the one where the screen will not let you.

What if I cannot log in?

You go to the identity service, not to Medicare. Medicare states that if you are unable to create or connect your account using one of these services, you contact the service you would like to use, or visit their help page. The service is the one you signed in through.

Those three services are ID.me, CLEAR and Login.gov. That instruction follows directly from the door having only one direction. Once an existing Medicare account is connected, Medicare states you can no longer log in using your existing Medicare username or password.

So an old password that stops working is not a fault to report to Medicare. It is the documented result of a connection that has already happened, and the account it belongs to now answers to the service you connected it through.

If the block is the verification itself rather than the password, the in person route exists. Medicare states you can only verify in person with ID.me, at places like the UPS store, or Login.gov, at the US Post Office, and that you bring your documents and your code with you.

If the obstacle is the equipment, Medicare gives a phone route for Medicare help generally. Medicare states that if you do not have access to a smartphone or computer, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE for help with Medicare, and that TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.

Those are the three routes Medicare publishes for this, and they are the whole of what it publishes. Contacting the identity service covers creating or connecting an account, in person verification covers proving who you are, and the phone line covers having no smartphone or computer.

What this means for you

Your Medicare account is one record reached through three doors, and those doors are run by companies that are not Medicare. The identity services verify who you are. Medicare states that all of your health information stays with Medicare, so the record itself never moves.

The single fact worth carrying away is not on the sign-in screen. Connecting an existing Medicare account to one of those services ends your old Medicare username and password, and Medicare says so in its own words.

It is also why the help route runs away from Medicare rather than towards it. Medicare directs a person who cannot create or connect an account to the identity service or its help page.

What you get for the trouble is your claims, and how much of your claims depends on your coverage. Original Medicare shows Part A, Part B and Part D. A Medicare Advantage Plan's downloadable data covers only drug claims.

For the notice that arrives in the post and what to do when a charge on it looks wrong, read this publication's article on the Medicare Summary Notice. For letting another person deal with Medicare on your behalf, read the article on talking to Medicare for a parent.

FAQ

What happens to my old Medicare username and password?

They stop working, and Medicare says so directly. If you already have a Medicare account you can connect it to one of the three identity services, and once you connect it you can no longer log in to your Medicare account using your existing Medicare username or password.

That is not a fault and it is not reversible by remembering the old details. From that point the account is reached through ID.me, CLEAR or Login.gov, and Medicare directs anyone who cannot create or connect an account to contact the service they want to use or visit its help page.

The record itself does not move. Medicare states that all of your health information stays with Medicare.

Do I need my Medicare Number before I can create an account?

Yes, and having an identity account already is not a substitute. Medicare states that even if you have an account with ID.me, CLEAR or Login.gov, you will not be able to create a Medicare account until you have your Medicare Number, which you get after you sign up for Medicare.

So the order is fixed: enroll, receive the number, then build the account around it. The verification step itself asks for three things. A picture of your REAL ID US driver's license, a state issued photo ID or your US passport.

Your Social Security Number. A photo or video of yourself. Medicare adds that other US documents may still let ID.me verify you.

Can I verify my identity without a smartphone or computer?

There are two published routes and they answer different problems. For verification itself, Medicare states you can only verify in person if you use ID.me, at places like the UPS store, or Login.gov, at the US Post Office.

That route still starts online on a desktop computer or a smartphone, and you then take your identity documents and your QR code or registration code to the location.

For a reader with no equipment at all, Medicare gives a general help line rather than a verification route: if you do not have access to a smartphone or computer, call 1-800-MEDICARE for help with Medicare. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.

Why can I only see my drug claims?

Because of the kind of Medicare you have, not because of anything you did wrong. Medicare states that if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, your data will only include claims for your drugs.

The wider statement is about Original Medicare: by linking your data to apps Medicare has authorized, you can access and share all your Part A, Part B and Part D claims with doctors and others you choose.

Part A is hospital insurance, Part B is medical insurance, and Part D is a Medicare drug plan. Medicare adds that you can check with your plan to find out whether it offers apps that let you access and share your health data, which is the route it names for a plan member.

How do I stop an app from seeing my Medicare data?

Through the account itself, and Medicare states there is no time limit on doing it. With Blue Button, the optional sharing service, you pick each app you want to use, sign up, and give that app access to your data.

Medicare then states that you can log into your Medicare account to stop sharing your data with an app at any time.

If you cannot manage that, or if the worry is bigger than one app, Medicare gives a number: call 1-800-MEDICARE if you think your information may have been downloaded by someone else, or if you need help to stop sharing your data with an app. Access given is not access surrendered.

Can my daughter use my Medicare account to help me?

Medicare answers a narrower version of that question. It states that a downloaded record can be printed or shared with someone you trust to help you, so passing on a copy is documented.

What Medicare does not invite is a shared login: to help prevent fraud and keep your personal health information private, do not use an email address you share with a spouse, family member or anyone else.

Medicare also asks that a downloaded file be treated like banking information, with paper copies kept in a safe and secure place. Letting another person deal with Medicare directly is a separate mechanism with its own forms, and it is not the account.