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Publications library
We went through the federal publications catalogue and pulled the guides that actually answer questions, then filed them by the decision they help you make. Each one is the official CMS edition, linked at the source so it is never out of date.
Figures reviewed for 2026
82
official guides, one per topic rather than one per mailing
6
sections, filed by the decision they help you make
Free
in print from Medicare, or as a PDF you can keep
If you read nothing else, read these. Each one is short enough for an evening and saves a phone call later.
CMS 10050
The handbook mailed to every Medicare household, rewritten each fall with the coming year’s premiums, deductibles, and plan rules.
CMS 11389
A short introduction to the two paths through Medicare, who qualifies, and the first three things to do once you are eligible.
CMS 11579
One page with the actual Part A and Part B premiums and deductibles, plus the income brackets for the IRMAA surcharge.
CMS 02110
The definitive 43-page guide to standardized letters, guaranteed issue rights, and what it takes to switch policies later.
CMS 12026
How bundled plans differ from Original Medicare, the plan types, and the network and prior authorization rules that decide what you pay.
CMS 11219
Every window that lets you join, switch, or drop a plan, with a table showing the month each change takes effect.
CMS 11109
The complete Part D handbook: creditable coverage, formularies and tiers, coverage rules, appeals, and Extra Help.
CMS 11222
How the one-percent-per-month penalty is calculated, what counts as creditable coverage, and how to request a review.
CMS 10116
The full catalogue of covered services under Part A and Part B, organized benefit by benefit with the cost sharing beside each.
CMS 02179
The pay-first rules when you have employer, retiree, VA, or Medicaid coverage, with the paperwork that decides it.
CMS 10110
Every preventive service covered at no cost, with the eligibility interval for each and what the visit should include.
82 guides
The guides to read in your first year of Medicare, when every acronym is still new and every decision feels permanent.
CMS publication 10050
The handbook mailed to every Medicare household, rewritten each fall with the coming year’s premiums, deductibles, and plan rules.
CMS publication 11389
A short introduction to the two paths through Medicare, who qualifies, and the first three things to do once you are eligible.
CMS publication 12218
Original Medicare set beside Medicare Advantage, with the trade-offs on networks, out-of-pocket limits, and extra benefits laid out plainly.
CMS publication 11579
One page with the actual Part A and Part B premiums and deductibles, plus the income brackets for the IRMAA surcharge.
CMS publication 12229
A year-over-year list of the amounts and rules that shift each January, worth reading before the fall enrollment window.
CMS publication 12192
A refrigerator card of the enrollment windows, from the seven months around your birthday to December 7.
CMS publication 12196
A palm card explaining what the fall window can change, what it cannot, and the one thing to check before you do nothing.
CMS publication 11220
Five questions to answer each autumn when deciding whether the plan you have is still the plan you want.
CMS publication 12207
Who has both programs, how the two payers take turns, and why the order of payment matters for a nursing home bill.
CMS publication 11409
Medicaid eligibility and how it differs from Medicare, including the long-term care it pays for that Medicare does not.
CMS publication 12133
Where to turn when a premium or deductible is more than the budget allows, including the state programs that quietly pay it.
CMS publication 11417
Practical ways to cut the annual total, from generic substitutions to assistance programs most people never apply for.
CMS publication 12039
What the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program pays, and the billing mistakes that follow people who have it.
CMS publication 11318
Extra Help explained: the income limits, what the subsidy removes from the bill, and how to apply.
CMS publication 11377
The special rights you have to replacement prescriptions and out-of-network care when a disaster is declared in your area.
CMS publication 12182
How to enroll, or restart benefits, after a period of incarceration, and which deadlines still apply.
CMS publication 12219
How to switch the annual handbook and your Medicare Summary Notices from paper to email or the online account.
CMS publication 11376
The questions to ask before leaving a hospital, especially about observation status and the skilled care that follows.
CMS publication 12068
The covered year-long lifestyle program for people at risk of type 2 diabetes, and who qualifies to join it.
CMS publication 12069
A printable poster describing the prevention program for a clinic, church, or senior center bulletin board.
The fork in the road: Original Medicare with a supplement, or a Medicare Advantage plan. These are the official booklets that explain each path and the rules for switching between them.
CMS publication 02110
The definitive 43-page guide to standardized letters, guaranteed issue rights, and what it takes to switch policies later.
CMS publication 11575
The short version: what Medigap pays, the six-month window when health questions are off the table, and how to compare two identical letters.
CMS publication 12026
How bundled plans differ from Original Medicare, the plan types, and the network and prior authorization rules that decide what you pay.
CMS publication 12181
HMO, PPO, PFFS, MSA, and the special needs plans in one chart, with the referral and network rules for each.
CMS publication 11941
What in-network means for specialists, hospitals, and referrals, and what happens to the bill when you go outside it.
CMS publication 11219
Every window that lets you join, switch, or drop a plan, with a table showing the month each change takes effect.
CMS publication 11694
Why Marketplace savings end once Medicare starts, and how to time the switch so no month goes uncovered.
CMS publication 10181
How to compare hospitals on experience, available services, and quality data before a planned procedure.
CMS publication 02174
What to inspect on a tour, which questions to ask the administrator, and how Medicare and Medicaid divide the bill.
CMS publication 12217
Daily life and payment questions for a long-term stay, including how to apply for Medicaid once savings run low.
CMS publication 11341
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly: who qualifies, what it replaces, and how it is funded.
CMS publication 11173
The federal office that steps in when a plan or provider will not resolve a complaint through the normal channels.
CMS publication 12177
What changes when Medicaid ends and Medicare becomes the primary payer again, including the premiums that suddenly return.
Formularies, tiers, penalties, and the programs that lower what you pay at the counter.
CMS publication 11109
The complete Part D handbook: creditable coverage, formularies and tiers, coverage rules, appeals, and Extra Help.
CMS publication 11163
A comparison worksheet for checking whether your specific prescriptions sit on a plan’s list and what tier they fall into.
CMS publication 11222
How the one-percent-per-month penalty is calculated, what counts as creditable coverage, and how to request a review.
CMS publication 11469
The Part D income brackets that ride alongside the Part B surcharge, and how to report a life-changing event.
CMS publication 12203
Who qualifies for the low-income subsidy, what it removes from the monthly bill, and how the application works.
CMS publication 12200
The one-page version of Extra Help: income limits, what it covers, and where to apply.
CMS publication 12211
Spreading drug costs evenly across the year instead of paying the full amount at the pharmacy counter in January.
CMS publication 12212
Small switches that lower the monthly total: generics, ninety-day fills, mail order, and assistance programs.
CMS publication 12234
The temporary arrangement that caps selected GLP-1 drugs at fifty dollars a month, and who it applies to.
CMS publication 12033
Safe storage, tapering, and the coverage rules that apply to opioid prescriptions under Part D.
One publication per benefit, from hospital stays and skilled nursing to dialysis, hospice, and care abroad. Useful when a specific bill or diagnosis is in front of you.
CMS publication 10116
The full catalogue of covered services under Part A and Part B, organized benefit by benefit with the cost sharing beside each.
CMS publication 11472
A beginner’s walkthrough of the twenty percent rule, the deductible, and what a supplement or Advantage plan does about both.
CMS publication 11435
Inpatient rules, benefit periods, and the deductible that resets with each new stay rather than each year.
CMS publication 10153
The hundred-day structure, the qualifying hospital stay, and what “skilled” means when a family is pleading for coverage.
CMS publication 11359
The condensed version of skilled nursing coverage, ideal for reading in a hospital corridor the day before discharge.
CMS publication 10969
Homebound rules, therapy visits, and the reason home health so often arrives with no bill attached.
CMS publication 11357
A two-page version of the home health rules, including when the homebound requirement is and is not enforced.
CMS publication 02154
Hospice eligibility, the two ninety-day periods, and exactly which treatments stop and continue once you elect it.
CMS publication 11361
The short hospice overview for a family making the decision quickly, with the four conditions of eligibility.
CMS publication 11045
What counts as equipment, the rental versus purchase rules, and the paperwork that gets a claim paid the first time.
CMS publication 11046
The face-to-face exam, the mobility requirements, and why a power chair ordered online is often denied.
CMS publication 11021
When ambulance transport is covered, when it is not, and the documentation that decides which of the two you get.
CMS publication 11931
Chemotherapy, radiation, and the split between Part B and Part D that catches patients off guard during treatment.
CMS publication 11022
Test strips, insulin, training, and the prevention programs covered for people with or at risk of diabetes.
CMS publication 11410
A quick-reference card of covered diabetes items and the questions to bring to a doctor’s appointment.
CMS publication 12019
Who qualifies for the covered prevention program, and what the weekly sessions involve.
CMS publication 10128
Dialysis, transplant, and the immunosuppressant coverage that continues after the surgery ends.
CMS publication 11360
The condensed version of dialysis coverage, including what changes if you travel or move.
CMS publication 11392
How a child qualifies for Medicare through kidney failure, and what the coverage includes for the family.
CMS publication 10184
Outpatient therapy, partial hospitalization, and the inpatient rules for psychiatric care under Part A and Part B.
CMS publication 11358
A short guide to finding a participating therapist and understanding the forty-eight percent rate for certain outpatient care.
CMS publication 12085
The treatment services Medicare covers for opioid use disorder, including medication-assisted treatment.
CMS publication 11037
The narrow exceptions where Medicare pays abroad, and the supplement that covers emergency care when you travel.
CMS publication 02179
The pay-first rules when you have employer, retiree, VA, or Medicaid coverage, with the paperwork that decides it.
CMS publication 11546
Which payer is primary, how a secondary plan picks up the rest, and the questionnaire that circulates each year.
CMS publication 12132
A single page listing the assistance programs that pay premiums and cost sharing, with the numbers to call.
CMS publication 12172
The thirty-five dollar cap on covered insulin, how it applies to pumps and supplies, and which plans it touches.
CMS publication 12188
How the insulin cap works through Part D and Part B, and what to do when a pharmacy charges more than expected.
CMS publication 11441
What a doctor can and cannot discuss with you, and the written permission that makes caregiving practical.
CMS publication 12224
The newer care-management benefit: who delivers it, what the practice must do, and what patients pay.
What a plan must tell you, how to challenge a denial, and how to spot a bill that should never have been sent.
CMS publication 11534
The guarantees that follow you in any Medicare plan, the notices you should receive, and where each complaint belongs.
CMS publication 11525
The five levels of appeal for Original Medicare, and how the process differs for Advantage and drug plans.
CMS publication 10111
How to read your summary notices for charges that never happened, and who to call when you find one.
CMS publication 11610
Record, Review, Report, and Remove: a four-step routine for recovering from identity theft and billing fraud.
The preventive services covered at no cost, and the checklists that make an annual wellness visit worth the appointment.
CMS publication 10110
Every preventive service covered at no cost, with the eligibility interval for each and what the visit should include.
CMS publication 11420
A checklist you can bring to the annual wellness visit to see which screenings are due and which are already done.
CMS publication 11542
The questions that separate a covered screening from a diagnostic test you will be billed for.
CMS publication 12113
Flu and pneumonia vaccine coverage, and the timing that matters for people over sixty-five.
CMS publication 11294
Heart disease as the leading cause of death in women, and the covered screenings that catch it early.
Every guide above opens on Medicare.gov. It is the same document a copy here would be, except the federal edition is replaced whenever the numbers change, so the one you open today is the current printing. Printed copies are free, ship in about two weeks, and can be ordered through the links or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. We also keep the figures that matter most explained on our own pages, in language closer to a kitchen table than a regulation.
Browse the full federal catalogueCross-reference
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