Government-sponsored health coverage is a maze of programs, deadlines, and acronyms. MediPrimer organizes it into clear, honest reference material. We don't sell insurance, we're not affiliated with any agency or plan, and no page here steers you toward a particular product — we just explain how it works so you can act with confidence.
Start here
Most people come here to make sense of their own coverage. If that's you, start with one of these:
I'm turning 65 soon
A plain-language walkthrough that assumes you know nothing and takes you step by step to your specific decisions. Veterans, people still working, and anyone helping a spouse get a path that fits.
Planning AheadI'm in my early 60s and planning ahead
Not 65 yet? Good — the years before matter. What to line up at 62, 63, and 64 so the real deadlines don't catch you off guard.
CouplesI'm planning for me and my spouse
Medicare has no family plan — two premiums, two timelines. What a couple really pays, and what happens when one of you retires first.
Changing CoverageI'm retiring or losing job coverage
What happens to your health insurance when you leave work. Bridge coverage options, Medicare eligibility, COBRA, ACA marketplace, and timing rules you need to know.
Social Security DisabilityI'm on disability or SSDI
How Medicare works for people on Social Security Disability Insurance. Waiting periods, coverage timing, and how disability affects your options.
State ProgramsI'm low-income or on Medicaid
Understanding state Medicaid programs and how they connect to Medicare. Income limits, what's covered, and how enrollment works in your state.
Both ProgramsI have both Medicare and Medicaid (or think I might)
How Medicare and Medicaid work together when you qualify for both. Coordination rules, coverage gaps, and why it matters for your costs and options.
Helping Someone ElseI'm helping a parent, spouse, or friend
A guide for people managing coverage for someone else. What you need to know, how to help with enrollment, and where to find free counseling.
DecidingI'm choosing between plans
Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medigap compared even-handedly — with tools to match the choice to what you value.
Denied or AppealingSomething was denied or I need to appeal
What to do when coverage is denied. How appeals work, deadlines, your rights, and how to get help from free advocates.
AssistanceI need help paying
Free, unbiased counseling and programs that lower premiums, drug, and coverage costs — and how to reach them.
Want the big picture first? See all member & caregiver guides or how the programs work.
Most-used pages
Enrollment & Deadlines
The windows that trip everyone up — and the penalties for missing them.
Policy & Rule Changes
Major legislative and regulatory changes explained plainly — and what each one means for you.
Getting Help Paying
Free counseling and programs that lower premiums, drug, and coverage costs.
Why MediPrimer is different
There is no shortage of Medicare and Medicaid information online. Most of it is either trying to sell you a plan, written like a federal regulation, or buried on the site of one program at a time. We built this to be the thing that was missing:
We have nothing to sell
No plans, no ads, no lead forms, no data collection. Most "free help" is a sales funnel that steers you to specific plans. We steer you to nothing — just the facts and your free official options.
Government-accurate, plain English
Official sites are authoritative but dense. We keep the accuracy and add clarity, aiming for about an eighth-grade reading level.
Organized around your situation
A veteran with a working spouse? Retiring early? We start where you are and walk you to the decisions — instead of making you assemble the answer from a dozen program pages.
All the programs, and how they connect
Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, the Marketplace, CHIP, and VA in one place — including how they interact — not one program per website.
We name the traps
The decisions that are hard to reverse and the mistakes that cost people — the Medigap "one-way door," the HSA and Part A gotcha, the COBRA penalty — stated neutrally, so you see them coming.
We point you to real help
Your SHIP counselor and your state agencies — free and unbiased — not a call center that earns a commission.
How the programs relate
It helps to keep three questions straight for any coverage program: who funds it, who administers it, and who delivers the benefits.
- Medicare is federal, funded and run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Benefits come either directly from the government (Original Medicare) or from private plans under contract (Medicare Advantage).
- Medicaid is a federal–state partnership: jointly funded, administered by each state within federal rules. Most states deliver benefits through private managed care organizations (MCOs).
- The Health Insurance Marketplace offers subsidized private coverage to people without affordable coverage elsewhere.
The same insurers often participate in all three markets, which is why the terminology overlaps so much. Coverage Basics keeps the boundaries clear.