Your Medicare Plan Options
Everyone starts with Original Medicare (Parts A and B). From there, you have choices — here they are in plain English.
The Two Main Roads (Plus Drug Coverage)
Original Medicare covers about 80% of your medical costs, has no yearly limit on what you might pay, and does not include prescription drugs. So most people add to it — and there are two main ways to do that. Neither is "better"; they are built for different priorities.
Road 1: Medicare Advantage (Part C)
An all-in-one plan from a private insurance company that replaces how you receive your Original Medicare benefits. Usually includes drug coverage and extras like dental, vision, and hearing, often at a low or $0 monthly premium. You use the plan's network of doctors and follow its rules, and there's a yearly cap on your out-of-pocket costs.
Tends to fit: people who want simplicity, lower monthly costs, and extra benefits, and whose doctors are in the plan's network.
Read the Medicare Advantage GuideRoad 2: Medicare Supplement (Medigap) + a Drug Plan
You keep Original Medicare, and a Medigap policy helps pay your share — the 20%, the deductibles, the surprise bills. See any doctor in the country that takes Medicare, with no networks and no referrals. You pay a higher monthly premium in exchange for predictable costs, and you add a separate Part D plan for prescriptions.
Tends to fit: travelers, snowbirds, people who split time between states, and anyone who wants maximum doctor freedom and fewer surprise bills.
Read the Medicare Supplement GuideThe Add-On: Part D Prescription Drug Plans
Stand-alone drug coverage for people on Original Medicare — with or without a Supplement. Even if you take no medications today, enrolling when you're first eligible avoids a late penalty that lasts forever. Plans differ in which drugs they cover and which pharmacies cost less, so we compare against your exact medication list.
Read the Drug Plan GuideHow Do You Choose?
The honest answer: it depends on your doctors, your medications, your budget, and your lifestyle — especially how much you travel. A snowbird who winters in Arizona weighs this differently than someone who stays close to home. That's exactly what a consultation is for: we lay your real situation over the options and see which fits. It costs you nothing and there's no obligation.
And for the gaps neither road covers — most dental, vision, hearing, and long-term needs — see our ancillary coverage page.