How to find a doctor who takes Medicare and is accepting new patients

"Takes Medicare" and "is accepting new Medicare patients" are two different things, and directories are only reliable about the first one.

Start with the right question

There are three kinds of doctors when it comes to Original Medicare:

1. Participating doctors accept assignment. They agree to Medicare's approved amount as full payment. You pay your deductible and 20% coinsurance, and that's it.
2. Non-participating doctors take Medicare but don't accept assignment. They can charge up to 15% more than the approved amount, and you may have to pay up front and wait for Medicare to reimburse you.
3. Opt-out doctors don't take Medicare at all. You pay their full price.

So the question to ask an office is: "Do you accept Medicare assignment, and are you taking new Medicare patients?"

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, the question is different: "Are you in network for my plan?" Name the plan exactly as it appears on your card.

Where to look

• Medicare.gov Care Compare lists doctors who are enrolled in Medicare and lets you filter by specialty and distance. It does not reliably know whether they're accepting new patients.
• Your plan's directory if you're on Medicare Advantage. Same caveat.
• The hospital system's "find a doctor" page for large practices, which is often more current than either.
• Your primary care doctor's office, which usually knows which specialists nearby actually have openings.

When you call

Offices are busiest Monday mornings. Try Tuesday through Thursday, mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Have your Medicare card handy but don't read the number out unless they're booking you. Ask:

• Do you accept Medicare assignment (or: are you in network for my plan)?
• Are you accepting new patients, and how far out is the first appointment?
• Do I need a referral? (Original Medicare doesn't require one for specialists; many Medicare Advantage plans do.)

Have a backup

Specialists in many areas are booked out months. Ask about a cancellation list, and have a second and third name ready before you start calling.

What we can do

Text us the kind of doctor you need and your town or zip code. We'll send you three options who accept Medicare, with phone numbers and addresses, and check back the next day to see if you got an appointment. If the first office was full, we'll have the next two ready.