According to a May 18 press release, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a number of updates to the Medicare.gov website. The release claims that the updates make it easier for the millions of individuals accessing the website to navigate and access information on health and drug coverage and find providers. The website is based on feedback from users and features initiatives and messages on the homepage that are most frequently searched for.
The release states that “Since 2021, CMS has introduced a number of enhancements to Medicare.gov to create a more welcoming and user-friendly experience. This week’s improvements redesign the Medicare.gov homepage and, also, add more detailed pricing information about Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) Policies that give individuals the information they need to compare Medigap plan costs and coverage options. CMS is committed to providing comprehensive and easily accessible information to support people with Medicare in their decision making. Additional improvements are planned for the next few months to streamline the Medicare Plan Finder landing page and the Medicare Account landing page, and align the look and feel with the new homepage.”
“Other updates to Medicare.gov throughout the past year include using simple language to answer complex questions people often have about Medicare coverage and step-by-step guidance to help people who are new to Medicare understand their coverage options and when they need to sign up,” the release adds. “For example, a redesign of the ‘Get started with Medicare’ section in the summer of 2021 guides users through a few questions to get personalized information for their unique situation to make it faster and easier to learn about Medicare and sign up. Updates to improve user-friendly navigation on the website include the implementation of a simple and modern consistent header in early 2021.”
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure was quoted in the release saying that “CMS is making Medicare.gov easier to use and more helpful for people seeking to understand their Medicare coverage, which is an essential part of staying healthy. We are committed to listening to the people we serve as we design and deliver new, personalized online resources and expanded customer support options for people with Medicare coverage and those who support them.”
The release concludes that CMS will continue to use feedback from users from Medicare.gov and is planning future improvements to website.
