Compare Medicare Plans and Enroll Yourself — You Are Not Alone

Choose how you want to compare Medicare plans

What you are actually comparing when you compare Medicare plans

The quoting tool will show you a monthly premium first, because that is the easiest number to display. It is also the number that predicts your annual cost least well.

When you compare Medicare plans properly you are comparing four separate things at once: whether your doctors are in the network, whether your prescriptions are on the formulary and at what tier, what you would pay across a realistic year rather than a good one, and which extra benefits you would actually use. A plan can win on all four and still not have the lowest premium.

Everything below is what we check on a screen-share, in the order we check it. You can do exactly the same thing yourself with the secure link on this page, and if you would rather not, that is what the phone number is for.

Four checks to run before you compare Medicare plans

Your doctors, by name. Search each physician individually, not the hospital system. A system can be in network while a particular practice inside it is not, and directories go out of date. If a doctor matters to you, confirm it with the practice before the enrollment goes through.

Your prescriptions, with dosages. Enter the exact drug, the exact strength, and how often you take it. Tier placement moves the price far more than the premium does, and the same drug can sit on tier 2 in one plan and tier 4 in another. In 2026 your Part D out-of-pocket spending is capped once you reach $2,100, which changes the arithmetic for anyone on expensive medication.

The total, not the premium. Add twelve months of premium to the deductibles and copays you would realistically incur, then look at the out-of-pocket maximum as your worst case. A zero-premium plan with high copays can cost more across a year than a plan with a modest monthly cost.

The extras you would genuinely use. Dental allowances, vision, hearing, fitness memberships, over-the-counter cards and grocery or utility benefits vary enormously. They are real money if you use them and marketing if you do not. Count only what you would claim.

Advantage or Supplement: the decision behind the comparison

Before you compare Medicare plans within a category, it helps to know which category you are in, because the two routes behave differently.

Medicare Advantage bundles your hospital, medical and usually drug coverage into one private plan with a network and an annual out-of-pocket ceiling. Premiums are often low, extras are common, and you accept network rules and prior authorisations.

Medicare Supplement with a standalone Part D plan keeps you in Original Medicare, so any provider in the country that accepts Medicare accepts you. Costs are predictable and the monthly premium is higher. There is no network to check, which is why the comparison is simpler but the premium comparison matters more.

You cannot hold both at once. Whichever you choose closes the other for as long as you keep it, and switching back later may involve health questions. That is the decision worth spending time on; everything after it is arithmetic.

What star ratings tell you, and what they do not

Medicare publishes a star rating from one to five for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans each year, covering things like preventive care, member complaints, customer service and how quickly plans handle appeals.

Star ratings are a useful tiebreaker when you compare Medicare plans that otherwise look alike. They are not a substitute for the four checks above. A five-star plan that excludes your cardiologist is the wrong plan, and a three-and-a-half-star plan that covers every doctor and drug you use at a lower total cost is usually the right one.

One practical note: a five-star plan can be joined outside the usual windows once per year under a special enrollment period. It is a narrow rule, but occasionally the reason a comparison is worth running in March rather than waiting until October.

Why having an agent of record costs you nothing

Plan prices are set by the insurer and filed with regulators. They are identical whether you enroll yourself online, call the carrier’s national line, or work through a licensed local broker. There is no version of the plan that costs less because you did it alone.

What changes is who you call next year. If you use the secure link on this page, O’Neal Insurance Group becomes your assigned agent of record automatically, at no cost. That means a person who knows your file when a claim is denied, when a bill looks wrong, or when the plan’s Annual Notice of Change lands in the autumn and you need to compare Medicare plans again.

We do not offer every plan available in your area. We represent multiple organisations that offer products where you live, and you can always contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program for information on all of your options.

Compare Medicare plans safely: what never to share

The enrollment link on this page is secure. Not everything that reaches you is.

Never give your Medicare number, Social Security number, bank details or medical records to an unsolicited caller, a text message, or a web form you did not go looking for. Medicare does not cold-call people to sell plans. Neither do we.

Send nothing sensitive by email. Use the secure enrollment link, or call the number on this page and confirm you are speaking to a licensed agent. You can verify any agent’s licence through your state insurance department or the NAIC lookup below.

Check any of this independently

You do not have to take our word for any of it.

• Medicare Plan Finder — the official government comparison tool
• Medicare.gov — Part D costs — the 2026 out-of-pocket cap quoted above
• SHIP National Technical Assistance Center — free counselling from people who sell nothing
• NAIC consumer tools — agent licence and complaint lookup

Related guides on this site

• Which Medicare enrollment window applies to you — before you compare, check you can act
• Medicare Advantage plans — how the bundled route works
• Medicare Supplement (Medigap) — the predictable-cost alternative
• Part D prescription drug plans — formularies, tiers and the annual cap
• Book a no-cost appointment

Or call (877) 808-2900 and we will compare Medicare plans with you on a screen share, using your own doctor list and your own prescriptions.