Medicare Plan Comparison Calculator

Real Medicare Advantage cost-sharing structures often apply different rates as spending increases, and modeling a lower rate on the first portion of costs and a higher rate beyond it better reflects how many actual plans structure copays and coinsurance. This tiered approach, capped by the plan's annual out-of-pocket maximum, gives a more realistic estimate than a single flat percentage applied to all medical spending.

Medigap supplemental plans are specifically designed to cover most of Original Medicare's cost-sharing gaps — deductibles, copays, and coinsurance — which is exactly why they carry a meaningfully higher monthly premium than many Medicare Advantage plans. The trade-off this calculator illustrates is paying more every month for predictability versus paying less monthly but carrying more exposure if a costly health event occurs.

Yes — the Medicare Advantage out-of-pocket estimate is capped at a representative annual maximum, reflecting that federal rules require MA plans to limit how much a member can be charged in a single year for in-network care. Original Medicare with Medigap has no equivalent hard cap modeled here, since Medigap's broad coverage already keeps typical out-of-pocket costs quite low.

Standalone Part D plans paired with Original Medicare and the drug coverage bundled into Medicare Advantage plans often carry different formularies, tiers, and cost-sharing rules, so this calculator applies a different flat approximate rate to each path rather than assuming identical prescription costs. Actual out-of-pocket drug costs depend heavily on which specific medications you take and each plan's own formulary, so treat both rates as rough approximations.