Medicare coverage saves lives. Enrolling shouldn’t be this complicated.

The confusing process to get an elderly U.S. citizen enrolled in Medicare Part B was detailed by her physician-scientist daughter, who discovered the bureaucratic nightmare despite studying Medicare professionally. Advocating for an overhaul to streamline the enrollment process, she suggests automated enrollment at age 65, additional call staff, and a dedicated helpline for Special Enrollment Period scenarios. Without help from a congressional representative, her mother’s critical stem cell treatment may have been delayed or become financially impossible.