Medicare Guide
Browse the Medicare guides
These guides explain one Medicare question at a time, so you understand the rules before you compare coverage. You leave knowing what to verify — enrollment timing, doctors, drugs, or costs — and what to ask next. Start with the area that matches your situation. They do not enroll you or pick a plan.
- I am new to Medicare
- I already have Medicare
- Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage
- Keeping your doctors
- Prescriptions
- Paying for Medicare
- How Medicare is built
I am new to Medicare
These guides explain the first enrollment window and what waiting can cost, so you use your own dates instead of someone else’s timeline.
- Medicare at 65Turning 65 starts a 7-month Initial Enrollment Period. It is not the same as fall Open Enrollment. Start with the window, then employer coverage, COBRA, and an HSA if those apply.
- Turning 65? Your Medicare Guide Starts Here.Your Initial Enrollment Period is a 7-month window around your 65th birthday. Use it on purpose — not in a rush.
- First-Time Medicare EnrollmentA practical roadmap for people approaching Medicare eligibility and trying to understand what needs to happen first.
- Medicare Enrollment Periods ExplainedMedicare has several enrollment windows. Using the right one can help you avoid gaps and penalties.
- Medicare Late Enrollment PenaltiesMissing certain Medicare deadlines can create a lifetime premium surcharge. The rules differ for Part B and Part D.
I already have Medicare
These guides show which window applies this year and what to recheck, so a change is a decision and not a guess.
- Annual Enrollment Period (AEP)AEP is your once-a-year window to review Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage for the coming year.
- Special Enrollment Periods (SEP)Certain life events can create enrollment opportunities outside the standard Medicare windows.
- Medicare 2026What is changing this year, including CMS-announced Part A and Part B figures, and what to review during Annual Enrollment.
- Common Medicare MistakesAvoid preventable problems by paying attention to enrollment timing, drug coverage, provider access, and plan changes.
Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage
These guides explain the two ways to receive Medicare, so you compare doctors, drugs, and costs instead of a premium alone.
- Medicare Supplement vs AdvantageTwo different approaches to receiving Medicare benefits. Neither is automatically better. The right fit depends on doctors, prescriptions, costs, travel, and how much structure you want.
- How to Compare Medicare CoverageUse a consistent decision framework instead of comparing only premiums or extra benefits.
- Plan G vs. Plan NTwo of the Medigap letters people compare most often after January 1, 2020. Benefits are standardized; premiums and company service are not.
- Original Medicare ExplainedOriginal Medicare is Part A and Part B. Here is how it works, what it does not cover, and how people usually complete the picture.
- Medicare Advantage ExplainedA practical overview of Medicare Advantage (Part C) and the questions that deserve a careful look before you enroll or switch.
Keeping your doctors
Start here to check a doctor, a medical group, and a hospital, so you do not assume a plan includes the care you already use.
Prescriptions
This guide explains Part D, so drug coverage is part of the decision and not an afterthought.
Paying for Medicare
These guides separate premiums from Extra Help and Medicare Savings Programs, so you know which costs to ask about. They do not decide whether you qualify.
- Lowering Medicare costsA lower premium is only one number. Extra Help, Medicare Savings Programs, and Medi-Cal are different programs. A Supplement and a Medicare Advantage plan also split costs differently. None of this is a finding that you qualify.
- Cost of MedicareA framework for thinking about premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prescriptions, and annual exposure — using 2026 CMS figures where they apply.
- Extra HelpExtra Help (the Part D Low-Income Subsidy) may lower prescription costs for people who qualify.
- Medicare Savings ProgramsSome people with limited income and resources may qualify for help with Medicare premiums and, in some cases, deductibles and copayments.
How Medicare is built
These pages explain Parts A and B in plain English, so the other guides have a foundation. Part C is with Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage. Part D is with prescriptions.
- Medicare 101: Start HereA plain-English overview of how Medicare works, who it is for, and how the major coverage pieces fit together.
- Medicare Part A ExplainedUnderstand the hospital-insurance side of Original Medicare, including what it generally covers and how 2026 cost-sharing is structured.
- Medicare Part B ExplainedLearn how Part B covers outpatient medical care, what the 2026 premium and deductible are, and why enrollment timing matters.
Want the full story? Get my book. Medicare 2026: Choose the Right Plan & Avoid Costly Mistakes walks through how Medicare is built. It does not pick a plan.