Medicare Savings Program phone numbers in New York: who to call

• Your Medicare number (on your red, white, and blue card).
• Your Social Security number, or at least the last four digits.
• Your Medicaid case number or CIN if you have one. It is on letters from HRA or DSS.
• The date you mailed or dropped off your application, and a copy of it.
• Any letter you got, especially one with a date on it. Deadlines run from the date on the notice.
• A pen and paper. Write down the date, the name of the person, and what they told you.

1. Wait about two weeks after mailing so the office has time to log it.
2. Call HRA (NYC) or your county DSS. Ask: "Did you receive my Medicare Savings Program application, and on what date?"
3. If they cannot find it, ask how to resend it and whether you can bring it in person. Keep your proof of mailing.
4. If they ask for more papers, ask for the exact list and the due date, and send copies right away.
5. At day 45, if there is still no Notice of Action, you can ask for a state fair hearing. The number on New York Medicaid notices for fair hearings is 1-800-342-3334.
6. After approval, give it a couple of months. If Part B is still deducted from your check, call Social Security.

Medicare Advantage and drug plan agents are not allowed to cold-call you under federal marketing rules; they can only call if you asked them to. A caller who says they are "from the Medicare Savings Program" and asks for your bank information is a red flag. Hang up and call the official number yourself. Report suspicious calls to 1-800-MEDICARE.

• Calling 1-800-MEDICARE to apply for the MSP. Medicare does not decide MSP; HRA or your county does.
• Calling Social Security to ask whether your MSP was approved. Social Security only handles the Part B deduction after the state tells it.
• Not writing down who you spoke with.
• Waiting past the 60-day deadline on a denial notice before asking for a fair hearing.