Medicare coverage
Four letters, three choices, one deadline you didn’t pick.
Part A, Part B, Part C, Part D — the alphabet is the least of it. What matters is which combination keeps your doctors, covers your prescriptions, and doesn’t leave you exposed. Here’s how the pieces actually fit.
Start with what Original Medicare leaves out.
Parts A and B come from the government. Between them they cover hospital stays and doctor visits — but they leave you paying coinsurance with no annual cap, and they don’t cover prescriptions at all.
That gap is the whole reason the rest of this page exists. You close it one of two ways, and you can’t do both.
Route one: Medicare Advantage
A private plan that replaces how your Original Medicare benefits are delivered. One card, one plan, usually with drug coverage folded in. Many include dental, vision, or hearing.
- Lower monthly premiums, sometimes zero beyond your Part B
- A yearly cap on what you can be asked to pay out of pocket
- A provider network — your doctors need to be in it
- Referrals and prior authorization on some plans
Route two: Medicare Supplement
Also called Medigap. You keep Original Medicare and add a policy that pays the coinsurance and deductibles Medicare leaves you.
- Any provider in the country who accepts Medicare
- No networks, no referrals
- Higher monthly premium, far more predictable bills
- Prescriptions need a separate Part D plan
Either way: Part D
Drug coverage is either built into your Advantage plan or bought separately alongside a Supplement. Plans differ enormously — two plans with the same premium can price the same prescription very differently, because each one keeps its own formulary.
This is where a comparison earns its keep. We price your actual medication list against the plans we offer rather than guessing from the premium.
The timing
Your Initial Enrollment Period runs seven months: the three before your 65th birthday month, that month, and the three after. Enrolling in the three months before means coverage starts the day your birthday month begins.
Signing up late can attach a permanent premium penalty, and the rules differ if you’re still working with employer coverage. Worth a conversation before you assume either way.
What actually changes
Before you call, and after.
“I turn 65 in March and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”
A written timeline built around your birthday month, so you know what happens when — before any deadline reaches you.
“My neighbor swears by Advantage. My brother says never. They can’t both be right.”
Both routes compared against your own doctors and your own prescriptions, with the trade-offs spelled out in plain language.
“I’ve had the same doctor for twenty years. I’m not losing her over this.”
Her name checked against the network of every plan we offer, before you sign anything.
Common questions
The things people ask on the first call.
Can I switch later if I choose wrong?
Partly. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans can be changed each year during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, with the new plan starting January 1.
Moving to a Medicare Supplement later is different. Outside your one-time Medigap open enrollment window, insurers in most states can ask health questions and decline you. That asymmetry is the single most important thing to understand before you pick, and it’s why the first decision deserves real thought.
What does this cost me?
Our help costs you nothing. Carriers pay our commission, and it doesn’t change your premium — the same plan costs the same whether you buy it through us, through another broker, or on your own.
Plan premiums themselves vary by county and by carrier, so we’ll price the specific options available where you live rather than quote you a number here.
I’m still working at 65. Do I need to do anything?
Possibly not right away, but don’t assume. Whether you can delay without penalty depends on the size of your employer and how your group coverage is structured, and getting it wrong can attach a penalty you carry for life.
It’s a short conversation and worth having before your birthday rather than after.
Will you actually look at my prescriptions?
Yes — that’s most of the work. Bring the names and dosages of everything you take and we’ll run them against the formularies of the plans we offer, so you see real numbers instead of a premium that looks cheap until January.
Do you sell every plan out there?
No, and nobody does. We’re appointed with multiple carriers and we’ll tell you plainly which ones. For a complete picture of everything available in your area, Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE list every option, including the ones we don’t offer.
Next step
Bring your list. We’ll do the rest.
Your doctors, your prescriptions, and whatever’s been nagging at you. No pressure, no obligation to enroll, and nothing to pay.