Medicare.gov

Accessibility & Nondiscrimination Notice

Accessible communications

Medicare provides free auxiliary aids and services including information in accessible formats like braille, large print, data and audio files, relay services and TTY communications. If you request information in an accessible format, you won’t be disadvantaged by any additional time necessary to provide it.  This means you will get extra time to take any action if there’s a delay in fulfilling your request.

To request Medicare or Marketplace information in an accessible format you can:

  • Call us
    • For Medicare, call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY: 1-877-486-2048.
    • For the Health Insurance Marketplace, call us at 1-800-318-2596. TTY: 1-855-889-4325.
  • Email us at altformatrequest@cms.hhs.gov.
  • Send us a fax: 1-844-530-3676.
  • Send us a letter:
    Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
    Offices of Hearings and Inquiries (OHI)
    7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop DO-01-20
    Baltimore, MD 21244-1850
    Attn: Customer Accessibility Resource Staff

Your request should include your name, phone number, type of information you need (if known) and the mailing address where we should send the materials. We may contact you for additional information.

If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) or Medicare drug plan (Part D) , contact your plan to request their information in an accessible format. For Medicaid, contact your State Medical Assistance (Medicaid) office.

Nondiscrimination Notice

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency that runs the Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs, and the federally facilitated Marketplace. CMS doesn’t exclude, deny benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, or age in admission to, participation in, or receipt of the services and benefits under any of its programs and activities, whether carried out by CMS directly or through a contractor or any other entity with which CMS arranges to carry out its programs and activities.

How to file a complaint

You can contact CMS in any of the ways included in this notice if you have any concerns about getting information in a format that you can use. 

You may also file a complaint if you think you’ve been subjected to discrimination in a CMS program or activity, including experiencing issues with getting information in an accessible format from any Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare drug plan, State or local Medicaid office or Marketplace Qualified Health Plans. There are 3 ways to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:

  1. Online
  2. By phone: Call 1-800-368-1019. TTY users can call 1-800-537-7697.

  3. In writing: Send information about your complaint to:

    Office for Civil Rights
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    200 Independence Avenue, SW
    Room 509F, HHH Building
    Washington, D.C. 20201

Medicare.gov accessibility & compliance with Section 508

Medicare is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to people with disabilities. If you can’t access content or use features on this website due to a disability, contact our Section 508 Team at 508Feedback@cms.hhs.gov. To help us better serve you, upload the material in question and/or include the URL if possible and let us know the specific problems you’re having.

Nondiscrimination policy update

Pursuant to decisions by various district courts regarding the 2024 Final Rule implementing Section 1557, entitled Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities, 89 Fed. Reg. 37,522 (May 6, 2024) (“2024 Final Rule”), provisions are stayed or enjoined as indicated below:  

  1. In Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services, No. 8:24-cv-1080-WFJ-TGW (M.D. Fla.), the court stayed 45 C.F.R. 92.101(a)(2)(iv), 92.206(b), 92.207(b)(3)-(5), and 42 C.F.R. 438.3(d)(4), in Florida. OCR also may not enforce the interpretation of discrimination “on the basis of sex” in 45 C.F.R. 92.101(a)(2)(iv), 92.206(b), or 92.207(b)(3)-(5) in Florida. 
  2. In Tennessee v. Becerra, No. 1:24cv161-LG-BWR (S.D. Miss.), the court stayed nationwide the following regulations to the extent they “extend discrimination on the basis of sex to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity”: 42 C.F.R. 438.3, 438.206, 440.262, 460.98, 460.112; 45 C.F.R. 92.5, 92.6, 92.7, 92.8, 92.9, 92.10, 92.101, 92.206-211, 92.301, 92.303, 92.304; and enjoined HHS from enforcing the 2024 Final Rule “to the extent that the final rule provides that ‘sex’ discrimination encompasses gender identity.” 
  3. In Texas v. Becerra, No. 6:24-cv-211-JDK (E.D. Tex.), the court stayed nationwide the following regulations: 42 C.F.R. 438.3(d)(4), 438.206(c)(2), 440.262, 460.98(b)(3), 460.112(a); 45 C.F.R. 92.101(a)(2) (and all references to this subsection), 92.206(b), 92.207(b)(3)–(5).

Notices of appeal have been filed in all three cases.