Income limits and how to apply, written for where you live.
All 50 statesWhich Medicare is right for you?
Answer six questions and see which setup actually fits you, which enrollment doors are still open to you, and exactly how to get it. Almost nobody is told that the window to buy a supplement closes for good.
Where are you with Medicare right now?
Your answer changes which doors are still open to you.
What the screen gives back
Which one fits you
A straight answer based on your situation and what you told us matters, not a list of 47 plans for you to sort yourself.
Which doors are still open
Your one-time window to buy a supplement, your 12-month trial right if you have one, and your state's actual rule.
Exactly how to get it
The real steps, in order, with the deadlines. And if you would rather not do it alone, someone can enroll you at no cost.
Three ways people get stuck without knowing
Switching in October and being declined a supplement
Open enrollment lets you leave Advantage. It gives you no right to buy a supplement. Those are two different doors, and only one of them opens in October. Get an approval in writing before you drop anything.
Assuming the supplement window comes back every year
It lasts 6 months, happens once, and does not come back. After that, in most states, an insurer can review your health and say no.
Paying the premium when you did not have to
Medicare Savings Programs pay the $202.90 a month outright and enroll year-round. Roughly 43% of the people who qualify are not enrolled.
Which is better, Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare?
Honestly, nobody can answer that for you in the abstract, and any site that gives you a confident one-word answer is selling something. It depends on health you cannot predict. What CAN be answered — and what this tool answers — is a different and more useful question: which of those doors are actually open to you, and when does each one close. Original Medicare with a supplement gives you predictable costs and lets you use almost any doctor in the country, but the supplement is a separate premium and you can only buy one freely during certain windows. Medicare Advantage usually costs less each month and bundles extras, but it uses a network, often requires prior authorization, and switching back later may not be possible where you live.
What is the Medigap Open Enrollment Period, and why does everyone talk about it?
It is a one-time, 6-month window that starts the first day of the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During it, any insurer must sell you any Medigap policy they offer, at their normal price, no matter what your health history is. Outside it, in most states, insurers can review your health and either decline you or charge you more. The part that catches people is that this window happens once and does not come back. It is not annual. If you are still working past 65 and delayed Part B, that is good news here: your window has not been used up, it simply has not started yet.
I have Medicare Advantage. Can I switch back to Original Medicare?
You can leave a Medicare Advantage plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, or during Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 to March 31. But here is the part that is almost never said out loud, and it is the single most important sentence on this page: leaving your Advantage plan moves your Medicare, and it does NOT give you any right to buy a supplement. Those are two different doors, and only one of them opens in October. In most states an insurer can review your health history and turn you down. People switch first, get declined a supplement, and end up on Original Medicare with no out-of-pocket maximum at all. If you want a supplement, get it approved in writing FIRST, then drop the Advantage plan.
What is the 12-month trial right?
It is the broadest guaranteed right in federal Medigap law and most people who have it never hear about it. If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan when you first became eligible at 65, and it is your first Advantage plan, you have 12 months to change your mind. Within that window you can drop the plan, go back to Original Medicare, and buy any Medigap policy from any company with no health questions asked. At month thirteen it is gone permanently. This tool computes exactly how many days you have left.
Is there a way to not pay the Part B premium at all?
Yes, for people under the income limits, and it is worth checking before you pick any plan. Medicare Savings Programs pay the $202.90 monthly Part B premium outright, and unlike enrollment windows they accept applications year-round. Roughly 43% of the people who qualify are not enrolled, mostly because nobody told them the program exists. If you qualify, it also changes which kind of plan makes sense for you — which is why this tool asks about income before it says anything about plans.
If I qualify for help with my premium, should I still buy a supplement?
Usually no, and this is a place where the standard advice on the internet is actively wrong for you. If you qualify for QMB, the program already covers your Part A and Part B deductibles and coinsurance — which is precisely what a Medigap supplement is designed to cover. Buying one would largely duplicate coverage you already have, and selling a supplement to someone on Medicaid is generally prohibited. Nearly every "Advantage vs Medigap" article is written for someone with a higher income and quietly gives this group bad advice.