Choose Your Medicare Coverage

Before you go shopping for specific plans, you need to know what types of plans you’re looking for. The worksheet and other information on this page can help you match your needs to the different Medicare choices available.

If you are enrolling in both Part A and Part B, you’ll need to determine whether Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan is best for you. Based on that decision, you will have other decisions to make.

Medicare Choices worksheet

This worksheet can help you figure out which Medicare choices may be best for you. Read the features in the left column. For any features that are important to you, place a mental check in the next column under "Fits with My Needs." If you like, you can download the worksheet and print it to fill out by hand.

When you're done, compare your "Fits with My Needs" column with the other columns in the chart. How do your checks line up? Which column has checks that line up best with yours?

Fits with my Need	Original Medicare Parts A & B	Medicare Advantage Part C	Medicare Perscription Drug Coverage Part D	Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap)

Primary Reasons to enroll		You want basic Medicare coverage from the government	You want one plan that combines the coverage of Medicare Parts A & B and that may include Part D coverage plus extra benefits	You want a standalone drug plan to add to your Medicare coverage	You want help with expenses not covered by Original Medicare Parts A & B
Offered through a private company	❏
Allows you to see any provider who accepts Medicare	❏		(some plans)	NA (you can use any pharmacy)
Covers overnight hostpital stays	❏
Covers medical care, like doctor visits	❏
Covers prescription drugs	❏		(may include)
Offers low or $0 copays	❏	(some services)
Offers low or $0 deductibles	❏		(some plans)	(some plans)
Limits your out-of-pocket costs	❏
Covers preventive services like flu shots	❏
Covers additional benefits and services	❏
Offers low or $0 monthly premium for prescription drug coverage	❏		(may include)

Consider coverage combinations

Remember that you can combine certain parts and plans to get the coverage you need. There are seven possible combinations.

It’s important to consider your choices to see which plan or combination of plans works best for you. There’s no “one size fits all.” You need to look for a good fit for you.