A:Press 2 then 0 then 0# then 0# when it asks for your Medicare number.Our free phone can also navigate phone menus to get a live human at Medicare for you.
Q:
Does Medicare offer 24 hour customer service?
A:Yes! This call center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.The least busy day is Saturday, and the most busy day is Wednesday.Schedule a call when it's convenient for you.
Q:
How long will I wait on hold?
A:The average hold time is 3 minutes.The longest hold times are on Thursday, and the shortest are on Wednesday.You can skip the hold time for free.
How do I get through the phone menu to a live person?
Consider using our free service that calls and talks to customer service for you, then sends you a report. Or use our free service that waits on hold and tells you when a human rep is on the line. But if those options don't appeal to you, our team has also documented the phone menu for Medicare below.
Our AI powered phone can dial, navigate the phone menu, wait on hold, and even talk to customer service for you, for free. You don't even need to learn about the path through the various phone options.
That same, free GetHuman Phone can call and navigate the menus and wait on hold for you, but you can opt to do all the talking. We notify you when a rep is on the line and ready to talk, so no need to worry about changing menu options and weaving your way through the maze.
Of course, we completely understand if you prefer to do all the dialing, waiting, and talking yourself. All of these free tools are optional.
GetHuman researchers routinely call this Medicare phone number to document the phone system.
Here is how our research team describes the way the Medicare phone system greets you: In a few words, briefly tell me the reason for your call today?
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest:Press 2 then 0 then 0# then 0# when it asks for your Medicare number
Below are some clips we've found from Medicare's phone menus and tips that help give an idea of what you will encounter when you call. We've highlighted why they are important as well:
They may ask your reason for calling (instead of a menu)
"Welcome to Medicare.
In a few words, briefly tell me the reason for your call today."
Excerpt from a call with Medicare
Thursday, June 13, 2024 8:59 AM
They may ask you to say or enter information
"You're calling about a card. Is that right?
Got it. Did you need a copy of your Medicare card?
First, please tell me your date of birth."
Excerpt from a call with Medicare
Friday, March 15, 2024 5:55 PM
The first phone menu
"Welcome to Medicare.
In a few words, briefly tell me the reason for your call today.
You can also say, it's something else or press six.
You can say claims or press one.
Coverage and benefits or press two."
Excerpt from a call with Medicare
Thursday, June 13, 2024 8:59 AM
What are the hours and when should I call?
Medicare operates the call center for this 800-633-4227 phone number 24 hours, 7 days.The short answer is that you should call on a Tuesday.This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 253 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).
Call when they- and you- are open
When you use our free AI-powered phone to call and talk, wait on hold, or navigate for you, you can also schedule the call with Medicare at a time when they are open and when it works for you. We will confirm you are ready before placing the call, just in case. That means you can "set it and forget it" ahead of time.
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this Medicare phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like Medicare staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.
The least busy time to call
The least busy day to call Medicare is Saturday.The most busy day to call is Wednesday, which averages 165% more phone calls by comparison.Again, this is based on a sample of 253 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Busiest
Thu
Fri
Sat
Quietest
The shortest wait on hold
We measured the shortest hold times to be on Wednesday.The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Thursday.
There are many reasons to contact Medicare. Individuals on the basic Medicare program often have questions about Medicare Advantage and supplements. Individuals should expect to get answers when they call Medicare's 800-633-4227 phone number with a customer service issue. When I called the number, I wanted to ask about the Medicare Advantage program. With many companies selling plans, knowing where to seek the best benefits is challenging.
At the beginning of the call, I heard brief music. Then, an automated attendant answered, welcomed me to Medicare, asked why I called, and asked if I had a question about Part C coverage. My reply was, "I think so?" It then confirmed that I wanted to speak to an agent and told me it would transfer me. It said they may monitor the call for quality and training purposes. It asked if I would be willing to participate in a survey after the call. I agreed to take the survey by pressing a number corresponding to "Yes." The system then told me my estimated wait time was nine minutes. I knew I did not have time to stay on the line that long. However, I decided to give it a few minutes to see if someone might answer.
I heard various background tunes while I waited. Then the automated voice returned to tell me about getting shingles, RSV, COVID, and flu vaccines with Medicare Drug coverage. It directed me to senior centers or pharmacies for the vaccines. After that announcement, the music resumed playing.
The music stopped playing again. There was another message from the voice warning me not to give my contact information to people I don't know. It told me Medicare would never contact me for my Medicare number or other information unless they had my permission in advance. The system also warned me never to give my Medicare card, Social Security Number or any other information to anyone except those I know should not have it.
Since I was unprepared to remain on hold, I ended the call. I gave the system four minutes to connect me to a representative, but that did not happen on this call. I couldn't tie up my phone line waiting because I expected another call.
I understand large organizations do not have staff to answer every call. I'm unsure if referring a Medicare recipient to a website would help because the information can be overwhelming. I give the system credit for offering the vaccine access information and how to avoid problems by safeguarding personal data.
Since I did not get to speak to a representative, I think this system is one where scheduling a callback could be helpful to consumers. Had I talked to a representative and been able to complete the post-call survey, I would have recommended adding a callback option if the system had allowed me to offer that information.
Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.
Why Customers Call Medicare
If you have time to do a bit of reading before you call Medicare, we recommend you read over some of our problem-specific articles.
Click the link above to get answers to just about any Medicare customer service question, including step by step guides for the most complex issues. You can also detail a new issue and get answers instantly.
Below is a sample of recent calls to Medicare, and their purpose. Are any of these similar to the reason you are trying to call?
Approval for medical device: "We're waiting for approval from insurance for that device."
- From a call lasting 23m 17s , Jun 20, 2025 6:49 PM
Overcharged Medicare premium: "I'm paying Medicare twice out of my pension and Social Security."
- From a call lasting 15m 2s , Mar 27, 2025 10:21 PM
Missing Medicare Part B: "I thought mine came in as well."
- From a call lasting 23m 39s , Mar 18, 2025 3:52 PM
Inquiry about a claim: "Wanna know what's going on with my claim."
- From a call lasting 4m 14s , Dec 9, 2024 5:18 AM
Information about why customers call Medicare is extracted from issues that customers have reported to GetHuman.
Use this link to connect with customer service via chat
If phone-based customer service is not available, or the wait times are long, many people prefer chat as a next-best option. Some even prefer it to calling on the phone. Luckily, Medicare provides this option.
As a last, sometimes only, resort- Medicare customer service can be accessed through their website. This can entail digging through help articles before finding a form and "being allowed" to submit a problem to their team, and rarely leads to a real-time conversation, which is why GetHuman does not recommend this unless it's the only way.
Conclusion and closing notes
This is Medicare's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a Medicare agent. This phone number is Medicare's best phone number because 438 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 800-633-4227 include Request Form 1095, Replacement Card, Update Account Info, Coverage Question, Check on a Claim and other customer service issues. Rather than trying to call Medicare first, consider describing your issue first; from that we may be able to recommend an optimal way to contact them via phone or web or chat. In total, Medicare has 1 phone number. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to Medicare representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.
GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for Medicare. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like Medicare. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.
