MedCarePrecheck is now Medterpret — and GougeStop is coming with us

Starting today, MedCarePrecheck has a new name: Medterpret.

How do you say it? Sounds like “interpret” with an M. Med-TER-pret.

If you already have an account, you don’t need to do anything. You sign in with the same email. Your saved notices, drafted documents, and deadline reminders are right where you left them. Here’s what changed, why, and what’s coming next.

1. Why we changed the name

I’ll keep this simple. The old name was too easy to mistake for something official. “MedCarePrecheck” sounded like it could be a Medicare program or a government website. It isn’t, and it never was, and a name that could blur that line doesn’t help anyone. So we picked a name that is clearly ours. We are an independent company.

What “independent” means for you: we are not Medicare, and we can’t change a Medicare decision or your plan’s decision. We help you understand the paperwork, and we draft the documents you may need along the way, from a claim appeal to a billing dispute. If you need to reach Medicare itself, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

2. What the tagline means

Our tagline is: “What your plan says. What it means. What to do next.”

That’s the whole job, in three steps:

• What your plan says. The actual wording on your notice, bill, or denial letter.
• What it means. Those words in plain English, with every acronym spelled out.
• What to do next. Any deadlines, your options, tips on how to handle the process, and a drafted document if you need one (Single Claim or Annual).

When I say “your plan,” I mean whatever covers you. If you’re on Original Medicare, like I am, that’s Medicare itself. If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan, it’s your insurance company.

3. What stays the same

Same tools. Precheck still lets you check a test or scan order before you go. Appeal a denial still lets you upload a notice, get a plain-English explanation, and receive a drafted appeal document (Single Claim or Annual). Our Playbooks, one for each track, are coming this month.

Same account. Nothing to re-create, nothing to re-upload.

Same promise: we draft, you decide. Medterpret drafts documents, calculates deadlines, and sends reminders. We never file anything for you, never submit anything to Medicare or your plan, and never represent you. You read the draft, change what you want, and decide what to send.

4. What’s broader: two tracks, clearly labeled

When I started this, I was focused on my own situation: Original Medicare and lab bills. The rules I had to learn the hard way are different from the rules in Medicare Advantage, and mixing them up can cost you a deadline.

So Medterpret now runs two clearly separate tracks:

• Original Medicare track. Your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN), the Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN) a provider may ask you to sign, and the 120-day deadline to ask for a redetermination (the first level of appeal). The 120 days count from the day you get the MSN. Original Medicare track →
• Medicare Advantage track. Your plan’s Explanation of Benefits (EOB), plan denial notices, prior authorization (when your plan has to approve care in advance), and the 65-day deadline to ask your plan for a reconsideration (the first level of appeal). The 65 days count from the date on the denial notice. Medicare Advantage track →

Here’s the catch: an ABN has no effect in Medicare Advantage, and the deadlines are different. Every page, letter, and reminder on Medterpret tells you which track it’s for.

5. GougeStop is coming with us

Some of you know GougeStop, the bill tools we built after a lab billed me $173 for two tests Medicare values at about $27. An ABN early this year priced a handful of tests at $1,358 if Medicare denied them. Medicare’s rate for those tests was $126, so I declined the tests.

GougeStop is not going away. It’s becoming part of Medterpret. You’ll see it labeled “GougeStop, now part of Medterpret,” and it includes:

• Bill check. Compare what you were charged with what Medicare pays for the same test.
• Negotiate-a-bill scripts. What to say on the phone, and what to put in writing, using Medicare’s rate as your starting point.
• No-ABN dispute documents (Original Medicare). Drafted for when you’re billed for a denied service and the provider can’t show you a valid ABN that you signed before the service (Single Claim or Annual).

One Medterpret account covers the appeal tools and the bill tools. Once the move is done, gougestop.com will forward to the GougeStop section of medterpret.com. GougeStop →

6. What’s free, and what’s paid

Free, no account needed. Test lookup (Medicare’s coverage rule for any test). Rate lookup (what Medicare pays). Find a Lab (what labs near you charge). The Insurer Scorecard (prior-authorization denial and overturn rates for the largest Medicare Advantage insurers). These posts.

Free with an email sign-in. A few free Precheck scans of a lab order. No payment, no card.

Medterpret Single Claim, $49. One denied claim or one bill. Medterpret reads your notice or bill and drafts the documents for it, from the appeal through a billing dispute or price negotiation, filled in from your paperwork for you to review, sign and send.

Medterpret Annual, $69 a year at the founding rate. Up to four claims a year, unlimited Precheck scans, both Playbooks, and claim monitoring at no charge for the rest of your first year once it launches. Locked in for as long as you stay a member.

When a post mentions a drafted document, it’s part of a Single Claim or Annual. Everything else on the site is free.

What to do this week

• Nothing, if you already have an account. Sign in as usual.
• Update your bookmark to medterpret.com.
• Got a notice or bill sitting in a pile? Check the date on it. In Original Medicare, you have 120 days from the day you get your MSN to ask for a redetermination. In Medicare Advantage, you have 65 days from the date on the plan’s denial notice to ask for a reconsideration.
• Want help choosing a plan this fall? That’s not us. Your free State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can walk you through your plan choices.

Bottom line: new name, same tools, same account, same promise. We draft, you decide.

Thank you for sticking with us.

— David

Got a denial or a confusing notice? Upload it to Medterpret and see what it says, what it means, and what to do next — in plain English. Medterpret drafts; you decide what to send. Appeal a denial →

Founding members: $69 a year, locked in for as long as you stay a member. Open to the first 500 members or through December 31, 2026, whichever comes first. Reserve My Founding Rate (no card needed). Founding rate →

Medterpret is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare, CMS, HHS, or any government agency. Educational information, not legal or medical advice.

Sources

1. “Appeals in Original Medicare.” Medicare.gov (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), accessed Sept. 29, 2026. medicare.gov
2. “First Level of Appeal: Redetermination by a Medicare Contractor” (120 days from receipt of the initial determination). CMS.gov, accessed Sept. 29, 2026. cms.gov
3. “Appeals in Medicare health plans” (65 days from the date on the plan’s denial notice). Medicare.gov, accessed Sept. 29, 2026. medicare.gov
4. “FFS ABN” — Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage, Form CMS-R-131. CMS.gov, accessed Sept. 29, 2026. cms.gov
5. “Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS)” (the Medicare rates used for lab tests). CMS.gov, accessed Sept. 29, 2026. cms.gov
6. “Talk to someone” (1-800-MEDICARE). Medicare.gov, accessed Sept. 29, 2026. medicare.gov
7. “Get Medicare Help from Your Local SHIP Program.” SHIP Technical Assistance Center, accessed Sept. 29, 2026. shiphelp.org