“Free plan comparison” is one of the most abused phrases in this industry. It usually means a brochure, or a call center reading a script from whichever carrier pays best that quarter.
Here is what it means when we say it.
The two hard filters, applied first
Before price enters the conversation, two checks eliminate most of the field.
Every doctor, by name. Your primary care physician, every specialist you see, and the hospital you would want to use. Each one gets checked against each candidate plan’s current network file, for the coming plan year — not last year’s directory. A plan that excludes a provider you will not give up is not a candidate, regardless of how good the rest of it looks.
Every prescription, at its tier. Name, strength and quantity, checked against each plan’s formulary, at the pharmacy you actually use. Preferred and standard pharmacies are priced separately, because the same drug can cost meaningfully different amounts two streets apart.
Most plans fail one of these two tests. What survives is a genuine shortlist rather than an alphabetical list of everything sold in your ZIP code.
The numbers that go in the written summary
For each surviving plan:
| Figure | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Monthly premium | The number everyone looks at first, and the least useful alone |
| Annual deductible | What you pay before the plan participates |
| Out-of-pocket maximum | The worst realistic year — the single most important figure |
| Specialist copay | Drives cost for anyone managing a condition |
| Inpatient cost share | The largest single exposure in most plans |
| Drug tier, per prescription | Where low-premium plans quietly get expensive |
| Network status, per provider | Already filtered, but shown so you can see it |
Then two columns most comparisons skip: a normal year and a bad year. A normal year is premium plus the copays you would realistically incur. A bad year is premium plus the out-of-pocket maximum. A plan is only affordable if the second number is one you could actually absorb.
Why “$0 premium” tells you almost nothing
A $0 plan premium is real — Medicare pays the carrier a monthly amount to manage your care, and a carrier delivering benefits for less than that can offer a $0 plan.
What it does not mean is $0 cost. You still pay your Part B premium, and you pay copays as you use care. Two $0-premium plans in the same county can have out-of-pocket maximums thousands of dollars apart. On the mailer they look identical. In a year with a hospitalization in it, they are completely different products.
What we will tell you that a call center will not
- That the plan you already have is the right one, when it is.
- That the extras being advertised at you are worth less than the copay structure underneath them.
- That the cheapest premium in the county is the most expensive plan for someone with your drug list.
- That a product someone else recommended is fine and you do not need to move.
We are paid by the carrier when you enroll, which gives us an obvious incentive to recommend change. We would rather keep a client for twenty years than earn a commission this month, and that trade-off is the whole basis of how we work.
What we cannot do
We compare plans from the carriers we are appointed with, which covers most of what is available in most counties. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Where something material sits outside our appointments we will say so plainly and point you at Medicare.gov or your state Marketplace so you can look at it yourself.
Any broker who implies they can see everything is overstating it.
What to have ready
- Your current insurance card, and the summary of benefits if you have it
- Every doctor and facility you want to keep
- Your prescriptions — names, strengths, quantities, read off the bottles
- Whether you travel or spend part of the year in another state
- Roughly what feels comfortable monthly, and what a bad year could look like
That is enough for a genuinely useful answer in one conversation.
Try the arithmetic yourself first
If you would rather see the shape of it before calling, the Part D total cost estimator compares three drug plans on annual total rather than premium, and the enrollment window checker works out which windows apply to you.
Then get in touch and we will run the real version — every plan in your county, against your actual doctors and drugs, at no charge.
Full detail on the service is on the plan comparison page.
Frequently asked questions
Does a plan comparison cost anything?
No. There is no fee for the comparison or for enrolling through us. Premiums are filed with regulators and are identical whether you enroll on your own or through a licensed broker.
How long does it take?
One conversation of twenty to forty minutes, plus the time we spend running networks and formularies afterwards. You usually have the written comparison within a day or two.
Do I have to switch plans afterwards?
No. A significant share of our comparisons end with a recommendation to change nothing. You are not signing anything by asking.