MAPD Help Desk

Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) Help Desk offers technical and functional support for the Medicare Advantage Health and Prescription Drug Coverage (Parts C and D) Programs.  This insurance coverage is provided by:

• Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans.
• Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) Plans.
• Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs)
• Third parties conducting data exchanges with CMS on behalf of MA/MAPD/PDPs.

Technical Support for Plan Connectivity and Access:

• Startup, testing and implementation for connectivity to CMS systems.
• Ongoing operational support for data exchanges and system problems.
• IDM - Identity Management for CMS system access and password reset inquires and issues.

MAPD Functional Support for Inquires and Issues:

• Coordination with CMS for beneficiary enrollment, disenrollment, payment and premium topics.
• MARx UI - Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug User Interface.
• eRPT - Electronic Retroactive Processing transmission.
• ELMO - Eligibility Enrollment Medicare Online.
• COB - Coordination of Benefits files.
• PRIS Plan Portal - Payment Recovery Information System Medicare Parts C & D Plan Portal.

For helpful information about the following topics, please click the link:

• Remote Identity Proofing (RIDP) (PDF)
• Common MARx UI Login Errors (PDF)
• Registering MFA Devices Quick Reference Guide (QRG) (PDF)

Important Notice: MAPD Help Desk Information Request Documents

• Please use the “MAPD Help Desk Information Request Form” when requesting information from the MAPD Help Desk. When supplying beneficiary information such as an SSN (Social Security Number) or an MBI (Medicare Beneficiary Identifier), the “SSN- MBI Spreadsheet” is required for any enrollment, entitlement, payment, or premium issues, and the “End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) SSN- MBI template” is required for any ESRD status update requests. Having the information in these documents will help facilitate accurate and timely processing of your request. 

  Please Note: If you are emailing in the spreadsheets, they are to be password protected (PDF) to ensure they are following the CMS Security Policy for PHI/PII.

  All documents are provided in the Downloads section in the ZIP file entitled “MAPD Help Desk Information Request Documents”.

Bulletin Board of Current Plan Communications

• December 23, 2025 – MAPD Help Desk Holiday Hours of Operation
  • Wednesday, December 24 - Reduced Hours 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
  • Thursday, December 25 - Closed for Christmas Day
  • Wednesday, December 31 - Reduced Hours 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
  • Thursday, January 1, 2026 - Closed for New Years Day

The MAPD Help Desk will return to normal business hours on Friday, January 2.

• November 28, 2025 – December Plan Communications User Guide v18.7 Now Available 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted a new version (18.7) of the Plan Communications User Guide (PCUG) to the MAPD Help Desk website. Revisions to the Guide include updates to Section 3, Section 6, and Section 8. Please see the Change Log at the beginning of the Guide for a detailed list of the updates and reference the MAPD Plan Communications User Guide page for the new PCUG.  

• September 30, 2025 – October Plan Communications User Guide v18.6 Now Available  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted a new version (18.6) of the Plan Communications User Guide (PCUG) to the MAPD Help Desk website. Revisions to the Guide include updates to Section 2, Section 3, and Section 7. Please see the Change Log at the beginning of the Guide for a detailed list of the updates and reference the MAPD Plan Communications User Guide page for the new PCUG.  

• August 29, 2025 – September Plan Communications User Guide v18.5 Now Available 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted a new version (18.5) of the Plan Communications User Guide (PCUG) to the MAPD Help Desk website. Revisions to the Guide include updates to Section 3 and Section 7. Please see the Change Log at the beginning of the Guide for a detailed list of the updates and reference the MAPD Plan Communications User Guide page for the new PCUG. 

• July 31, 2025 - August Plan Communications User Guide updated v18.4 Now Available

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted a new version (18.4) of the Plan Communications User Guide (PCUG) to the MAPD Help Desk website. Revisions to the Guide include updates in Sections 3, 4, 5, and 7. Please see the Change Log at the beginning of the Guide for a detailed list of the updates and reference the MAPD Plan Communications User Guide page for the new PCUG. 

• June 30, 2025 - July Plan Communications User Guide updated v18.3 Now Available

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services posted an updated version of the v18.3 Plan Communications User Guide (PCUG) to the MAPD Help Desk website. Revisions to the Guide include Transaction Reply Code updates in Section 3. Please see the Change Log at the beginning of the Guide for a detailed list of the updates and reference the MAPD Plan Communications User Guide page for the updated PCUG.

Quick Reference Guide (QRG) MAPD Help Desk Common Issues

The MAPD Help Desk receives thousands of inquiries each month and in an effort to better assist our growing user community, we have consolidated information regarding issues we most commonly support.  Please refer to the Quick Reference Guide of MAPD Help Desk Common Issues in the download section below which provides users with easy access to common issues and solutions in a quick and easy format.

Topics covered include:

• Initial Setup
• Remote Identity Proofing (RIDP)
• Account Issues
   
• Important Notice: MAPD Help Desk Information Request Documents

Please use the MAPD Help Desk Information Request Form, and when applicable the Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) – Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) Template, and the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Template when requesting information from the MAPD Help Desk.  Use of the form and spreadsheets will help facilitate accurate and timely processing of your request.  Please note that if emailing the spreadsheets they are to be password protected to ensure they are following the CMS Security Policy for PHI/PII.

All documents are provided in the Downloads section in the ZIP file entitled MAPD Help Desk Information Request Documents.

Regularly Scheduled Maintenance

As a reminder, the MARx UI may be unavailable due to Regularly Scheduled Maintenance during the following timeframes:

Daily: 11:00 PM to 12:30 AM ET.

Weekly: Sunday evening at 6:00 PM to Monday morning at 6:00 AM ET.

Also, GENTRAN/TIBCO may be unavailable due to Weekly System Backup during the following timeframe:

Weekly: Sunday Morning at 1:00 AM to approximately 3:00 AM ET.

Holiday Hours

The MAPD Help Desk is closed on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

MARx UI Submission Cut Off Dates

Please reference the following table for the upcoming 2026 Plan Data Due dates for MARx transaction submissions.  Cutoff for the submission of MARx transaction files is 8:00 PM (Eastern Time) on the dates listed below:

Contacting the MAPD Help Desk

Phone: 1-800-927-8069
E-mail: mapdhelp@cms.hhs.gov
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 7:00 AM to 7:30 PM ET.