In the face of ever-increasing documentation and reporting requirements, reduced reimbursement, and the general hassle of managing EHRs, some physicians are reevaluating their relationships with Medicare. Towards this end, they may be exploring whether to switch from “participating” to “non-participating” status (where the physician may elect to accept assignment on claims or charge the patient a fee up to the applicable limiting charge), or to opt out of Medicare (entering into private contracts with patients wherein the physician’s services will not be reimbursed at all by Medicare, and they may charge what they please). In investigating these options, however, physicians may encounter additional information regarding how to “withdraw” from Medicare, which may lead to some confusion. Which status is the right status: non-participating, opted out, or withdrawn? And what is the difference between withdrawing from Medicare and the other statuses? Withdrawal from Medicare is appropriate when a physician is voluntarily terminating involvement in Medicare altogether, such as when the physician retires, or closes a practice location and wishes to terminate permanently the billing privileges for that location. It is not meant to be the same thing as switching to non-participating status, nor for opting out and entering into private contracts with patients.