The Medicare Rights Center is a nonprofit organization founded in June 1989 as the Medicare Beneficiaries Defense Fund (MBDF) by Diane Archer. The organization's self-declared mission is to "ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives."[1]
One of the first actions of the MBDF was to bring a 1989 lawsuit brought against the federal government on the grounds that the Medicare Explanation of Benefits (EOB) failed to mention limits on what a doctor may charge for a service or what a beneficiary must pay.[2]
That same year, Archer set up a "national consumer helpline" in order to provide counseling to Medicare recipients. The helpline then publishes an 'annual trends report' summarizing the content of these calls made to the Center.[3]
The Medicare Rights Center also maintains an online reference and coursework tool called Medicare Interactive (MI).[4] [5]