How do I find a doctor who accepts medicare for seniors?

Accessing Medicare.gov‘s Doctor Compare tool will help you find a doctor in your area. Perhaps you have had a familiar family doctor for many years and would like to continue to choose him as your family doctor while you have Medicare for the elderly. Not every doctor accepts seniors insurance (medicare assignment), although most do.

If your doctor accepts seniors insurance:

• The cost of your visit will be lower
• The doctor will file a claim directly with Medicare and cannot charge you until it is submitted, and you will usually only pay your deductible and co-insurance.

What does it mean if my doctor accepts seniors’ insurance?

Doctors who accept the Medicare mandate can fall into any of the following categories:

• Participating doctors accept the Medicare mandate, which means they accept an amount approved by the Medicare Department for the Elderly as payment for their services. These doctors receive 80% of the fee from the Medicare department for the elderly and you pay 20% of the fee yourself.
• Non-participating doctors can choose to accept or not accept. If the doctor does not accept Medicare for the elderly, you may have to pay an additional 15% above the cost of the service, known as the Medicare excess charge. You will then pay up to 35 percent of the cost instead of 20 percent.
• Doctors who opt out of Medicare for the elderly may charge you what they think is the right price for the service. You will then be responsible for the full cost.