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Medicare Options Compare Help

Navigation

There are several ways to move around this tool:

  1. Grey Buttons: In general, to advance to the next step in the tool, you’ll use the grey buttons. Depending on where you are in the tool, the buttons will say different things, like “Continue,” “Compare,” “Enter Drugs,” etc. Click on the button, and you will go to the next step.

    Example showing the 'Continue' button of the Medicare Options Compare tool.

  2. Tabbed Menu Bar: Sometimes, in the upper portion of the web page you’ll see different "tabs" with words on each tab, going horizontally across the page. If you see a tab, you can click on it to get more information on a particular topic. The tab that is white indicates the page you are on, while the other tabs are "faded" grey in the background. An example of a tabbed menu bar appears below. This example tells you that you are at the "Cost Rating Methods" tab.

    Example showing the 'Tabbed Menu Bar' of the Medicare Options Compare tool.

  3. Back Links and Buttons: To go back to the page you were on before you got to the current page, some (but not all) pages on this tool will have a link that you can use. Click on the link, and it will take you back a page. You can also use the back button on your browser to get back to the previous page.

    Example showing the 'Back' link of the Medicare Options Compare tool.

  4. Starting Over: If you want to start over in the tool, you can use the “Home” link to get back to the Home page of the Medicare Options Compare.

    Example showing the 'Home' link of the Medicare Options Compare tool.

  5. Learning More: At many points throughout the tool, you have the chance to learn more about a particular topic. You can get to this information by clicking on the link in the green “Learn More” box on the right side of the screen.

    Example showing the 'Learn More' links of the  Medicare Options Compare tool.

Comparing Original Medicare and Medicare Health Plans

Follow these steps to compare the health plans available in your area:

  1. Choose to “Find and Compare Medicare Health Plans” on the Home Page.
  2. Decide whether to do a Personalized or General Plan Search (Step 1 of “Find and Compare Medicare Health Plans”) and click the grey “Begin Plan Search” button.
  3. Provide the requested information (Step 2 of “Find and Compare Medicare Health Plans”) and click the grey “Continue” button.
  4. Review your current coverage (Step 3 of “Find and Compare Medicare Health Plans”) and click the grey “Continue” button.
  5. Select the plans you want to compare (Step 4 of “Find and Compare Medicare Health Plans”) by clicking on the small checkboxes on the left side of the table. Then, click the grey “Compare” button.
    • If you want to see fewer plans, you can click the “+” link to “Select Criteria to Reduce Number of Plans Shown,” add in your criteria, and click the grey “Update Results” button.
    • All plans are sorted by Estimated Annual Cost. If you want to sort your results in a different way, click on the underlined heading in the column and it will automatically re-sort the plans.
  6. Review information on the plans you compared:
    • You can print this page if you like by clicking on the grey “Print this Page” button.
    • If you want to see more details about a particular plan, click the grey “View Plan Details” button.
    • If you want to compare drug costs for the plans, click the “Enter Your Drugs” button on the right-hand side of the screen.
  7. In Steps 5 and 6, if you want to see any of the following information, click on the link for that information in the “Learn More” box on the right side of the screen:
    • Average monthly out-of-pocket costs for the plan
    • Quality graphs for the plan
    • Data on why people leave the plan

Comparing Medigap Policies

Follow these steps to compare the Medigap policies available in your area:

  1. Choose to “Find and Compare Medicare Health Plans” on the Home Page.
  2. Enter your zip code in the “Medigap Policy Search” box on the right side of the page, then click on the grey “Go” button.
  3. Compare the high level summary of benefits offered by each Medigap policy.
  4. To see more details on a policy, click the “View Details” link on the left side of the table underneath the policy you want to view. Review detailed coverage information on the policy you selected. You can print this page if you like by clicking on the grey “Print this Page” button.
  5. To get a list of companies offering the policy in your area, click on the grey “View all companies” button. You can print this page if you like by clicking on the grey “Print this Page” button.
Thank you for using the Medicare Options Compare. We hope it will make your health care coverage decisions easier.