Where to Get Medicare Help in New Jersey

The right door depends on the question. For facts about Medicare itself, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048), open 24 hours a day, or use Medicare.gov. Social Security handles enrollment in Parts A and B, Medicare cards, premiums, IRMAA and Extra Help. In New Jersey, NJ FamilyCare and your county welfare agency handle Medicaid, the NJSave hotline (1-800-792-9745) handles PAAD, Senior Gold and the Medicare Savings Programs, and your county Office on Aging (1-877-222-3737) connects you with local services. When you want your plan options compared side by side and help enrolling, call or text Jackie Layser at (856) 727-4221. Her consultations cost you nothing.

Who to call, at a glance

Source: Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD), 2026.

Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE

Medicare itself is the place for facts about your coverage, and it lists every plan in your ZIP code, not only the ones a particular agent offers. The phone line is open 24 hours a day, and most of the same help is online at Medicare.gov.

• Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov lists the Medicare Advantage and Part D plans offered in your ZIP code, with each plan's premium, estimated drug costs and star rating. CMS published the 2027 Star Ratings on October 8, 2026, and they appear on Plan Finder for the October 15 to December 7, 2026 enrollment period.
• Questions about Original Medicare claims and your Medicare Summary Notice, the statement that lists the services billed to Medicare.
• Ordering the Medicare & You handbook in print, large print, braille or other formats, or switching to the electronic copy.
• An interpreter in your language at no cost: call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask for one.
• Your Medicare.gov account. The 2027 handbook lists more ways to log in, including ID.me, CLEAR and Login.gov.

Social Security

Contact Social Security to sign up for Parts A and B if you are not enrolled automatically, replace a Medicare card, ask about your Part B premium or IRMAA, apply for Extra Help, update personal information or report a death. Many tasks can be done online at ssa.gov, or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

If you kept working past 65 and delayed Part B, Social Security needs form CMS-40B to enroll you and form CMS-L564, completed by your employer, to show you had group coverage. If retirement or another life change lowered your income, form SSA-44 asks Social Security to reconsider an IRMAA surcharge.

New Jersey programs: NJSave, PAAD, Senior Gold and the Medicare Savings Programs

New Jersey runs several programs that lower Medicare costs, and they share one application called NJSave. The Department of Human Services hotline, 1-800-792-9745, answers questions and helps with the application (nj.gov, 2026).

• Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB and QI) can pay your Part B premium, and QMB also pays Medicare deductibles and coinsurance. 2026 yearly income limits start at $15,960 for one person for QMB and go up to $21,546 for QI, with an asset limit of $9,950 for one person (nj.gov).
• PAAD (Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled) lowers prescription copays to $5 for generics and $7 for brand names, for 2026 incomes under $54,943 single or $62,390 married.
• Senior Gold covers incomes just above PAAD: $54,943 to $64,943 single or $62,390 to $72,390 married in 2026, with a copay of $15 plus 50% of the remaining cost of each covered drug.

NJ FamilyCare and your county welfare agency

NJ FamilyCare is New Jersey's Medicaid program. Its Aged, Blind, Disabled (ABD) programs cover people 65 and older and people with a disability determination. All the ABD programs share one application: you can apply online, by mail, or through your County Social Service Agency, and an in-person interview is not required to apply. The ABD help line is 1-800-356-1561 (nj.gov).

Your county of residence decides which office handles your case. These are the county welfare agencies for South Jersey and Union County, from the state's directory, which recommends calling ahead to confirm hours:

Source: NJ county welfare agencies (boards of social services).

County Offices on Aging: help beyond your health plan

New Jersey has an Area Agency on Aging in each of its 21 counties, and each one is also the county's Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC). They are the place to start when the question is about staying safe and independent at home: meals, rides, home care, caregiver support and long-term services. They do not sell or choose health plans. The statewide number, 1-877-222-3737, connects you to your county (nj.gov).

Source: NJ County Offices on Aging (Area Agencies on Aging and ADRC).

Jackie: plan comparison and enrollment, at no cost to you

Jackie Layser is a licensed Medicare insurance agent who has been helping clients by phone or in person since 2008, and she also meets by Zoom. Garden State Medicare Solutions serves South Jersey and all of New Jersey. In Jackie's words: "We pride ourselves in being the expert from start to finish." A consultation costs you nothing and you are under no obligation to enroll.

• Turning 65 or leaving a job: mapping your Initial Enrollment Period, the Part B and Part D deadlines, and paperwork such as forms CMS-40B and CMS-L564.
• Comparing Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and Part D plans against your own doctors, prescriptions and pharmacy, using the 2027 plans filed for your county.
• New Jersey Medigap rules: New Jersey has no birthday rule, so the supplement decision at 65 deserves care, because switching later can mean health questions.
• Every fall, reading your Annual Notice of Change together and deciding whether to keep your plan or switch between October 15 and December 7.
• If income or savings are tight, checking the 2026 limits for Extra Help, the Medicare Savings Programs, PAAD and Senior Gold, and pointing you to the right office to apply.

Which door for which problem: four examples

• Your first Part B bill after retiring is higher than $202.90 because of IRMAA, based on income from two years ago: that is Social Security. Ask for form SSA-44, a life-changing event request, and bring proof that your work ended.
• Your Medicare Advantage plan refuses to cover a drug you took last year: first ask the plan for a coverage determination or exception with your prescriber, then appeal using the steps in the denial letter. Jackie can go through the letter and the deadline with you.
• Your income dropped and you want help with your Part B premium: that is a Medicare Savings Program application through NJSave (1-800-792-9745), and approval brings Extra Help with drug costs automatically.
• A parent needs help at home after a hospital stay: start with the county Office on Aging through 1-877-222-3737, and ask Medicare or the plan what home health care is covered.

Appeals and quality-of-care concerns

If you think Medicare services are ending too soon in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health agency, hospice or outpatient rehabilitation facility, you can ask for a fast appeal through a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization (BFCC-QIO). The phone number is printed on the notice you receive and listed on Medicare.gov. The same organization handles quality-of-care complaints.

For a denied claim or drug, follow the appeal steps on your Medicare Summary Notice or your plan's Explanation of Benefits, and note the deadline printed there. 1-800-MEDICARE can explain the process for Original Medicare, and your plan explains its own. Problems with a Medigap or other insurance policy sold in New Jersey can be raised with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, which regulates insurers in the state.

Before you call: what to have ready

• Your red, white and blue Medicare card, and your plan member card if you have one.
• The letter or bill you are calling about: a Medicare Summary Notice, an Explanation of Benefits, a denial letter or an Annual Notice of Change.
• A list of your doctors and your prescriptions with doses and your pharmacy.
• For income programs: recent proof of income, bank statements and your county of residence.
• A pen and the date, so you can write down who you spoke to and what they said.

Protecting yourself from Medicare scams

The Medicare & You 2027 handbook asks everyone to check Medicare Summary Notices, receipts and statements for services you did not get, to guard your Medicare card and number, and to report suspected fraud (page 109). If something looks wrong, call 1-800-MEDICARE, and the HHS Office of Inspector General takes reports at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477).

A licensed agent should tell you which organizations and products they represent, and you can always check plan information independently on Medicare.gov or with 1-800-MEDICARE before you sign anything.

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The bottom line

Use 1-800-MEDICARE and Medicare.gov for Medicare itself, Social Security for enrollment and premiums, NJSave (1-800-792-9745) for PAAD, Senior Gold and the Medicare Savings Programs, NJ FamilyCare and your county welfare agency for Medicaid, and your county Office on Aging for help at home. When you are ready to compare plans and enroll, or just want someone to explain your options in plain English, call or text Jackie at (856) 727-4221. Solutions You Can Count On.