Medicare worries: cost, doctors, and complexity

Start with My Medicare Checkup

My Medicare Checkup takes about 3 minutes. Enter your ZIP code. Say where you are with Medicare: turning 65, reviewing a current plan, or helping a spouse or parent. Then answer three questions about what matters most: keeping your doctors, managing costs, or how you want coverage put together.

You get a list of questions to ask your doctor’s office and your plan before you decide anything. That list is the starting point for the rest of this page.

• No accountYour answers stay in this browser. You do not create a login.
• Email or a call is optionalYou can email the list to yourself, or ask Alan to call. Those steps send the information you choose to send. If you do neither, the answers stay on this device.
• Listen or speakEach step has a button that reads the text aloud. You can speak an answer instead of typing it.

At a glance

Match the worry to one starting page. You can use more than one.

• CostStart with Find Ways to Lower My Medicare Costs. You will see programs that can reduce what you pay, and a short check of whether applying may be worth your time.
• Doctors and coverageStart with Check My Doctors and Hospitals. You will see how to verify a doctor, a hospital, and a medical group for a specific plan.
• ComplexityStart with My Medicare Checkup and the plain-English guides. The path follows your situation. It does not start with a pile of letters.

If your concern is cost

Medicare often costs more than people expect, and less than they fear once they know which programs exist. Find Ways to Lower My Medicare Costs covers Extra Help, Medicare Savings Programs, and Medi-Cal. They are worth a look even if you think you earn too much.

• The Part B premiumWhat most people pay, and what can change it, is on Medicare Part B. The 2027 amount is not a bill until Medicare announces it.
• IRMAAAn extra amount some people with higher incomes pay on top of the Part B and Part D premiums. Social Security decides it. It is not a plan fee.A high-income year from two years ago can raise the Part B and Part D premium today. What is IRMAA? explains the rule. It is not a plan premium.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment PlanIt spreads drug costs across the year. It does not reduce what you owe. How the payment plan works.
• See if I may qualifySee if I may qualify asks a short set of income and resource questions. It can suggest whether Extra Help, a Medicare Savings Program, or Medi-Cal may be worth an application. Only the program can say you qualify.
• Compare Medicare Advantage plansCompare Medicare Advantage plans shows 2027 benefits filed with Medicare for a California ZIP: premiums, drug coverage, and extras. It does not include 2026 plans, and it does not pick a plan. A $0 premium is not automatically the cheapest year. Hospital copays, drug costs, and whether your doctor is in the network decide what you spend.
• A D-SNP with Medi-CalWhat a D-SNP costs if you also have Medi-Cal.
• Late enrollment penaltiesLate Part B and Part D penalties. The estimate on this site is not a bill.
• COBRA versus MedicareCOBRA versus Medicare at 65. A mistake here can be expensive and hard to undo.

If your concern is coverage

Coverage comes down to two questions. What does the plan pay for? Is the care you already use included? Check My Doctors and Hospitals is about the second question.

• A doctor who takes MedicareMay still not take every Medicare Advantage plan. Ask the office which plan names they take at that address this year.
• A PPODoes not mean you can see any doctor. Medicare HMO vs PPO.
• A California medical groupThe group can decide which specialists you can reach, even when your doctor is in the network. Your plan and your medical group.
• Doctor checkDoctor check lists hospitals and medical groups tied to a California doctor. It does not show which plans that doctor takes. Confirm the plan on Medicare.gov and with the office.
• Medical groups in a ZIPMedical groups in a ZIP is a starting list for the front desk. A name on the list is not proof that your doctor is in that group.
• Original Medicare or Medicare AdvantageCompare Medicare Coverage Options looks at doctors, travel, and how you want coverage put together. Related reading: Medicare Advantage or a Supplement, HMO vs PPO, Plan G vs Plan N, and California’s Medigap Birthday Rule. None of them names a company or a best plan.
• Drug coverageCheck drug prices shows a 30-day price and whether a drug needs approval. A low Part D premium does not help if the plan does not cover your medication. Why the lowest Part D number can mislead.
• Already in a planThe Annual Notice of Change says what can change on January 1 if you do nothing. Read it before December 7.

If your concern is complexity

Medicare’s reputation for being hard is partly earned. Some of it comes from explanations that use too many letters, too many dates, and words that assume you already know them.

• Plain EnglishArticles on this site use the same word for the same thing. The glossary uses Medicare’s meaning, not a sales brochure’s meaning.
• Pages that read themselvesEvery article, and every Checkup step, has a button that reads the text aloud and highlights each line. A voice button lets you answer by speaking.
• Organized by situationGuides for turning 65, still working, leaving COBRA, and VA, TRICARE, or FEHB.
• Help for familiesHelp a Family Member With Medicare is for the spouse or adult child at the appointment. It covers how to take part without taking over, what to ask the office, and how to keep the papers.
• Local pagesGuides for Arcadia, Pasadena, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Monterey Park, El Monte, Rosemead, Temple City, and Monrovia and Duarte. Each one names nearby hospitals and medical groups. A nearby name is not proof a plan includes that doctor.
• ChatIf you would rather write than call, use the chat window on this site. A message does not enroll you.

A typical session

Most people use two or three tools and read two or three articles.

• 1. Take My Medicare CheckupAnswer the questions on My Medicare Checkup.
• 2. Read the listThose are the questions to take to the doctor’s office and the plan.
• 3. Check the doctorsUse Doctor check, then confirm the plan on Medicare.gov.
• 4. Check the drugsUse Check drug prices for the prescriptions you take.
• 5. If cost is the worryRun See if I may qualify. It is an estimate, not an approval.

Ready to talk

Call [(626) 214-5774](tel:+16262145774) (TTY 711), or use the contact form. A conversation with Alan does not commit you to a plan.

This page describes tools on this website. It does not recommend a specific Medicare plan, and it does not enroll you. Check the current Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage. Benefits, networks, and costs can change each year. Medisure Agency is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. For a complete list of plans, use Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 711).