How to Help a Parent With Medicare: Calls, Forms, Online Account

Knowing how to help a parent with Medicare starts with your parent's permission, because Medicare won't share their personal health information with you without it. Medicare's caregiver fact sheet says your parent can give that permission out loud while you're on the phone with 1-800-MEDICARE, or can name you as an authorized representative on a written form. When your parent submits Form CMS-10106 (Authorization to Disclose Personal Health Information) online through their Medicare account, Medicare's caregiver fact sheet says you can call 1-800-MEDICARE on their behalf right away; a mailed form generally means waiting a few weeks.1,2 Your parent stays in charge the whole time, because Form CMS-10106 says your parent can change or cancel the written authorization at any time by writing to 1-800-MEDICARE.2 Medicare's caregiver fact sheet also says your parent can edit a representative's access to their Medicare.gov account at any time.1

In This Guide

• Can You Talk to Medicare for Your Parent?
• How Does the Authorization to Disclose Form (CMS-10106) Work?
• How Long Does the Medicare Authorization Take?
• How Do You Get Access to Your Parent's Medicare.gov Account?
• Can Your Parent's Doctor Talk to You?
• How Do You Handle a Medicare Appeal for Your Parent?
• How Do You Cancel or Change These Permissions?
• Which Medicare Permission Do You Need to Help Your Parent?
• What Don't These Medicare Permissions Cover?
• Where Can You Get More Help With Your Parent's Medicare?
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Can You Talk to Medicare for Your Parent?

Yes, you can call Medicare on behalf of your parent, but only with your parent's permission. Medicare's fact sheet for family caregivers, Talking with a Friend's or Family Member's Doctor During an Appointment (CMS Product No. 11441), says Medicare can only give you personal health information about a family member if that person gives verbal permission while you're on the phone with Medicare, or if that person has added you as an authorized representative.1

The verbal route only works when your parent can join the call, because your parent gives the permission out loud to the 1-800-MEDICARE representative while you're on the phone.1

The written route matters when your parent can't always be on the line. The Authorization to Disclose Personal Health Information form (Form CMS-10106), published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), states that "By law, you must give 1-800-MEDICARE permission in writing before 1-800-MEDICARE can share any information with someone other than you."2

How Does the Authorization to Disclose Form (CMS-10106) Work?

Form CMS-10106, revised in March 2026, is the form a person with Medicare uses to give 1-800-MEDICARE permission to share their personal health information with someone else.2 Your parent fills it out and signs it; you're the person being named.

Here's how Form CMS-10106 is laid out, according to the form itself:2

• Who can get the information. Your parent enters the name of each person or organization that can get their personal health information from 1-800-MEDICARE. To share with more than 2 people or organizations, your parent lists the others on the back of Form CMS-10106.
• What can be shared. Your parent checks only one box, either "Any information" or "Limited information." The limited choices on Form CMS-10106 include Medicare eligibility, Medicare claims, health and drug plan enrollment, and premium payments.
• How long it lasts. Your parent checks whether 1-800-MEDICARE may share the information indefinitely or only for a period of time they write in. Form CMS-10106 notes that a state may have different limits on how long Medicare can share personal health information.
• Signing as a personal representative. Someone signing Form CMS-10106 as a personal representative checks the personal-representative box and attaches a copy of the paperwork that shows they can act for the person, such as a power of attorney.

There are two ways to send the finished form. CMS says that for faster service, Form CMS-10106 can be submitted online by logging in to your parent's secure Medicare.gov account. Or the completed and signed Form CMS-10106 can be mailed to 1-800-MEDICARE Written Authorization Dept., PO Box 1270, Lawrence, KS 66044.2

If your parent wants to share only part of their record, the "Limited information" box is the tool for that. A parent who wants you handling claims questions but not plan enrollment, for example, can check only the Medicare claims choice on Form CMS-10106.2

How Long Does the Medicare Authorization Take?

How long the Medicare authorization takes depends mostly on how your parent sends it. Medicare's caregiver fact sheet says that when the authorization form is filled out and submitted online in your parent's Medicare.gov account, you can immediately call and talk on your parent's behalf. When the form is downloaded, printed, and mailed, the fact sheet says you'll generally need to wait a few weeks before you can call and talk on your parent's behalf.1

There's a middle option if paperwork is the hard part: Medicare says you can call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask for help filling out the authorization form, and the customer service representative will mail the completed form to your parent to sign and return.1

How Do You Get Access to Your Parent's Medicare.gov Account?

Your parent's secure Medicare account at Medicare.gov/account is a different tool from the phone authorization, and Medicare's caregiver fact sheet says your parent must give you permission to log into it.1

The fact sheet describes these steps for adding yourself as a representative on a parent's Medicare.gov account, using the screen labels as printed in April 2025:1

Your parent keeps control of that access, because Medicare says the person with Medicare can edit a representative's access at any time.1 Those screen labels come from a fact sheet printed in April 2025, so the live Medicare.gov site may word them differently.

Can Your Parent's Doctor Talk to You?

Your parent's doctor can talk with you, but only with your parent's permission. Medicare's caregiver fact sheet says the doctor must get your parent's permission to talk to you about their care, and suggests asking the doctor's office how your parent can give you that permission.1

Once your parent has given permission, you don't have to squeeze every question into the minutes your parent is in the room. Medicare says that during your parent's medically necessary appointment, the doctor can spend time talking to you about your parent's condition or treatment plan, even if your parent isn't present.1

That conversation doesn't come with a separate charge. Medicare says the Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) payment includes the time the doctor spends talking with you, so the doctor can't bill Medicare or your parent separately for that time.1

How Do You Handle a Medicare Appeal for Your Parent?

Filing or helping with a Medicare appeal for your parent uses its own permission, separate from the phone authorization. Medicare's official guide Medicare Appeals (CMS Product No. 11525, April 2026) says a person with Medicare who wants help filing an appeal can appoint a representative, and that representative can be a family member, friend, advocate, attorney, doctor, or someone else.3

The Medicare Appeals guide describes 2 ways your parent can appoint you as their appeal representative:3

1. Form CMS-1696. Your parent fills out the Appointment of Representative form (Form CMS-1696) and sends it with the appeal to the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) listed on the Medicare Summary Notice (MSN), or to the plan.
2. A written request. Your parent writes a request that includes their name, address, phone number, and Medicare Number; a statement appointing you as their representative; your name, address, and phone number; your relationship to them; a statement authorizing the release of their personal and identifiable health information to you; and a statement explaining why they're being represented and to what extent.

On Form CMS-1696, Section 1 is completed by the person appointing the representative and Section 2 is completed by the representative.3 By signing Form CMS-1696, a person with Medicare agrees that the representative will be the main contact and will have authority to make requests, present evidence, get information, and receive all communication about the appeal, and the representative may see the person's personal medical information.3

Form CMS-1696 goes to the same place the claim, appeal, grievance, or request goes.3 The Medicare Appeals guide also says to keep a copy of everything sent as part of an appeal. For the steps of the appeal itself, see our guide to Medicare appeals.

Form CMS-1696 states that an appointment of a representative is valid for one year from the date it's signed by both the person appointing a representative and the appointed representative, and that a completed form can be used for other appeals or actions during that one-year period.3

How Do You Cancel or Change These Permissions?

Each Medicare permission ends in its own way.

• Form CMS-10106 (phone authorization). Form CMS-10106 says the person with Medicare has the right to change or cancel ("revoke") the authorization at any time by writing to the same Lawrence, Kansas address used for the form. After that letter, Form CMS-10106 says 1-800-MEDICARE no longer shares the person's personal health information, except for any information already released based on the original permission.2
• Medicare.gov account access. Medicare says the person with Medicare can edit a representative's access to their Medicare.gov account at any time.1
• Form CMS-1696 (appeal representative). Form CMS-1696 says that, unless revoked, the representation is valid for the duration of the claim, appeal, grievance, or request for which it was filed.3

If your parent picked a set time period on Form CMS-10106 instead of "indefinitely," the authorization is written to cover only that period.2

Which Medicare Permission Do You Need to Help Your Parent?

Each of these Medicare permissions covers a different task, so you may need more than one. The table below lines them up using what CMS and Medicare.gov publications say about each.1,2,3

What Don't These Medicare Permissions Cover?

Each Medicare permission has a defined scope, so it helps to read the wording on each form closely. Form CMS-10106 is written as permission for 1-800-MEDICARE to share your parent's personal health information with the people your parent names.2 Form CMS-1696 is written as an appointment to act on a claim, appeal, grievance, or request.3

For a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, CMS directs people to contact the plan first, using the phone number on the plan member ID card, for plan-related issues.4 Ask your parent's plan directly how it lets a family member help.

A power of attorney shows up on Form CMS-10106 only as an example of the paperwork a personal representative attaches to show they can act for the person.2 For questions about what a power of attorney can do, start with our guide to guardianship and power of attorney, and ask an elder law attorney to review your parent's document.

This guide also doesn't cover your parent's Social Security Administration benefits or managing their money day to day. For that, see our guide to managing an aging parent's finances.

Where Can You Get More Help With Your Parent's Medicare?

1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is the official Medicare line, and Medicare.gov says callers can talk or live chat with a real person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.4 Questions about Form CMS-10106 and questions about appointing an appeal representative both go to 1-800-MEDICARE.2,3

For one-on-one help, Medicare says each State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) helps people with Medicare and their families make informed Medicare decisions, review coverage, and understand costs. You can find your parent's SHIP phone number at shiphelp.org or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.1 Our guides to SHIP counseling and who to call for Medicare help explain which line fits which problem.

Learn More

Find personalized help sorting out your parent's Medicare permissions at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.