Compare Medicare plan coverage and costs to help you decide.
It pays to do your homework when comparing Medicare plans. Coverage and costs vary from plan to plan and from company to company. You’ll want to explore and compare all of the choices available to you.
Once you identify specific plans you’re interested in, you can use the information on this page to compare them side-by-side. Or if you like, you can download the Medicare Plan Finder Worksheet and print it to fill out by hand.
You can compare different Medicare plans to each other. Or you can compare one plan with a combination of plans. For example, you might compare a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage to Original Medicare plus a prescription drug plan.
Keep reading for more information
Comparing Plans
Follow these steps for each plan you’re considering. Put the results side by side to see how they compare.
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Plan Information
Make sure you note the following for each plan included in your comparison:
- Insurance company
- Name of plan
- Type of plan (Medicare Advantage HMO, for example)
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Coverage
You want to make sure the plans you're considering cover the things that are most important to you. For each plan, place a mental checkmark next to the services that it will cover. For example, if a plan covers vision services, then put a checkmark in that box. If it does not, then leave it blank. Remember, you can also download the Medicare Plan Finder Worksheet and print it to fill out by hand.
- Current physician
- Current prescriptions
- Coverage gap
- Nurseline
- Preventive care
- Lab services
- Emergency services
- Chiropractic care
- Outpatient care
- Hearing exams
- Dental services
- Vision services
- Acupuncture
- Podiatry care
- International coverage
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Costs
It can be difficult to compare costs between different plans. Each plan has its own cost-sharing terms and conditions. You may want to estimate what your costs would be with each plan or combination of plans you’re considering. Create a scenario or take a situation from your own health care experience and compare what you would pay with each plan.
You can also estimate what your total costs would be. Some things to consider are:
- Monthly plan premiums
- Annual deductibles
- Copays/coinsurance
- Annual out-of-pocket maximum
- Emergency care fees
- Annual pharmacy deductible
- Prescription drug costs
