Legal
Editorial Standards
Last updated: June 5, 2026
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1 Our promise
The Clearing exists to help people understand Medicare before they decide — calmly, in clear language, with nothing to sell. Everything we publish is held to one standard: is this genuinely useful and free of a product agenda?
2 How we research & source
We start from official Medicare and government sources, and add trusted nonprofit and policy research (such as KFF’s summaries of CMS data) for context. We attribute statistics to their source, and we distinguish neutral government data from consumer surveys.
3 Independence & funding
We are member-funded. We don’t sell insurance, accept plan or carrier sponsorship, take commissions, or run affiliate links to enrollment. Our funding model is the reason our guidance can stay plan-neutral.
4 Accuracy & corrections
Rules and figures change every year. We review time-sensitive content regularly, date it, and correct errors promptly when we find or are told about them. If a figure looks out of date, tell us.
5 How we use AI
Fern is an educational AI guide. We design it to work from your situation, to encourage you to verify specifics, and to tell you when to bring in a human. It is reviewed against the same independence and accuracy standards as the rest of the Service — and it can still be wrong.
6 Clear language
We explain Medicare from your perspective, not the government’s alphabet — but we don’t oversimplify to the point of doing you a disservice. The decision is real, so we treat it that way: clearly, calmly, and in full.
7 Report a correction
Found something inaccurate or unclear? Tell us — we read every note and fix what we get wrong.
This document is a prototype template and not a substitute for legal advice. Have it reviewed by qualified counsel before publishing. Questions? Reach our team.