No, your original Medicare coverage does not include Lifeline or any other Personal Emergency Response system (PERS) or Medical Emergency Response System (MERS) as a benefit.

However, some Medicare Advantage plan may include partial coverage for medical alert systems (see section below).  Also, Medicaid or another state agency will cover Lifeline or other medical alert system under Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) - you will need to contact or visit your local Medicaid office to learn more since coverage can vary state-by-state.

In fact, many state Departments on Aging or Social Services Department or Medicaid programs (except for perhaps: MO, AR, and LA) will cover Lifeline, so you may wish to check with your local Medicaid office for more information.

To learn more, you can begin at Medicaid.gov and look for "Personal Emergency Response System" coverage or coverage for similar devices.

Important Reminder: "Nothing is free"

Be advised that there are scams that promote "free" Emergency Response Devices.  Be sure you know with whom you are speaking - and do not freely share your personal or Medicare information.  When in doubt, telephone Medicare at 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227) for assistance.

You can read more here:  As this article reminds us: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Medicare Advantage plans covering Lifeline or other PERS.

Please note, although Medicare does not cover emergency response systems, it is possible that a Medicare Advantage plan in your area may cover Lifeline or another emergency response system as an additional or supplemental benefit.

You can learn more about a Medicare Advantage plan's additional coverage benefits by contacting the plan's Member Services department.

The toll-free Member Services number is printed on the Medicare Advantage plan Member ID card or you can use our Medicare Advantage plan finder (MA-Finder.com) to find the Member Services number for any Medicare Advantage plan.

For additional assistance, you can also telephone Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 and speak with a Medicare representative.

Alternative coverage for Personal Emergency Response systems (PERS):

AARP -- Association of Retired Persons -- offer members a 15% discount on Medical Alert Services such as Lifeline. Read more at

The Veterans Administration (VA) provides a medical alert system to Veterans meeting the following criteria:

• Veteran cannot access a way to communicate with emergency services due to a fall or other immobilizing incident.
• Veteran lives alone or is left alone for an extended period of time.
• Veteran has impairments that precludes the use of a cell or cordless phone
  • Impaired upper extremity function
  • Impaired vision
  • Impaired cognition
• Access to 911 in their area of residence.

Discuss the device with your primary care provider to see if you qualify and if the VA will pay.

VA may cover:
Honor Alert: (honoralert.com), (888) 581-4440
Freedom Alert: (logicmark.com), (800) 519-2419
Guardian Alert: (logicmark.com), (800) 519-2419
Guardian Alert Plus: (logicmark.com), (800) 519-2419

Resources: