My Medicare Engine
2026 educational planner

Build your Medicare Planning Report.

A privacy-first Medicare planning workflow that turns your answers into a personalized roadmap, premium comparison, planning checkpoints, and a printable Medicare Planning Report.

Educational tool: This planner does not enroll you, select an insurance plan for you, or provide individualized insurance, tax, or legal advice. Medicare rules and plan costs can change.

1. When are you first eligible?

We use your birth month and year to show a month-level Initial Enrollment Period. No name, email, phone number, or date of birth is stored by this page.

The standard Initial Enrollment Period is generally 7 months: 3 months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and 3 months after. This planner intentionally avoids date-specific claims when only month/year are supplied.

2. What coverage do you have now?

This is the most important part of the enrollment-timing analysis.

Medicare status & employment details

Use the date active employment ends, not the COBRA start date.
These dates let the engine distinguish current employment from COBRA/retiree coverage and calculate the actual Medicare/Medigap timeline instead of relying only on the age-65 estimate.

3. HSA & prescription coverage

These questions identify two common planning traps without assuming that one answer fits everyone.

Historical coverage details

Optional; useful for HSA retroactivity analysis.
Use only if you already know the full uncovered-month count.
Use only if the delay period is documented.
Optional. Used with Part A application timing for HSA retroactivity analysis.
2026 Part A premiums: $0, $311, or $565 depending on work history.
Most MA plans include Part D, but not all. Plan-specific verification is required.
Examples include certain MA trial rights or loss of qualifying coverage. Exact rights can depend on the situation and state law.
The calculator will not infer historical penalties from incomplete information. If dates are missing, it will identify what still needs to be confirmed.
Prescription coverage flag: Going 63 days or more without Medicare drug coverage or other creditable prescription drug coverage can lead to a Part D late enrollment penalty. Confirm your coverage status and keep the plan's creditable-coverage notice.

4. Income & filing status

IRMAA is based on modified adjusted gross income from the tax return Medicare uses, generally from 2 years earlier.

Enter the MAGI amount you want to test. The tool does not verify a tax return.
2026 estimate: no IRMAA based on the MAGI entered. Standard Part B premium is $202.90/month.

5. What matters to you?

These preferences are used to explain tradeoffs, not to declare a “best” Medicare option.

Important: Enter only the Medicare Advantage plan's own monthly premium here, including Part D if the plan includes drug coverage. Do not enter the $202.90 Part B premium—the calculator adds Part B separately. If your plan gives a Part B premium reduction, enter that below.
Optional planning input only; not a prediction.
Part D IRMAA is separate from the plan premium. It is added to the Part D cost and can also apply when Part D is included in a Medicare Advantage plan. Leave the override blank to use the 2026 income-based estimate.
The calculator shows monthly and annual premiums. It does not predict deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prescription costs, or total annual healthcare spending. Those costs can materially change the comparison.

6. Compare the actual monthly premiums

Use the premiums from the plans you are actually considering. This makes the comparison a real premium-to-premium calculation rather than assuming Medicare Advantage is always cheaper. A Medicare Advantage plan can have a $0 plan premium, but you still generally pay Part B; some plans may also reduce Part B. Original Medicare usually adds a Medigap premium and a separate Part D premium.

Default 2026 planning estimate: $34.50/month. This is the 2026 national-average stand-alone Part D premium estimate. Replace it with the actual premium for the plan you are considering when known.
If Medicare has already given you a specific 2026 Part D IRMAA, enter it here. Otherwise the calculator uses the 2026 MAGI-based estimate from Section 4.
Part D cost reminder: Your Part D plan premium varies by plan and can change each year. Part D IRMAA is separate and is added to the plan premium. The 2026 CMS amounts range from $0 to $91 per month, depending on filing status and income. If you have an official IRMAA determination, use the override above.

Important Medicare Planning Checkpoints

Planning checkpoints are separate from your plan-preference questions and are used to identify timing and cost issues before the final comparison.

These checkpoints help identify timing issues that can affect enrollment, supplemental coverage, and out-of-pocket costs.

Employer & COBRA transition

If current-employment coverage ends, Medicare’s Special Enrollment Period rules should be reviewed promptly.

Medigap: what it is & when the clock starts

What is Medigap?

Medigap, also called Medicare Supplement Insurance, is private insurance that can help pay some of your share of covered costs under Original Medicare, such as copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.

Medigap generally requires Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). Medigap policies sold after 2005 don't include prescription drug coverage, so prescription coverage is generally handled separately through Part D.

Source: Medicare.gov — Medigap Basics

Your one-time federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period starts the first month you’re 65 or older and have Part B, and lasts 6 months.

Enter your Medicare Part B start date to calculate the six-month Medigap window.
Your Medigap enrollment timeline
Enter your Part B start date above to see your personalized six-month window.
During this one-time federal open enrollment period, you can generally buy any Medigap policy sold in your state without medical underwriting based on pre-existing health problems. After the period, federal rights can be more limited, although certain guaranteed issue rights and state protections may apply.

Financial assistance checkpoint

Medicare Savings Programs may help with Part A/Part B premiums and other costs; Extra Help can reduce Part D costs for eligible people.

Medical-cost exposure

Premiums are only one part of the comparison.

  • Original Medicare + Medigap: Medigap can reduce your share of covered Part A and Part B costs.
  • Medicare Advantage: plan deductibles, copays, coinsurance, networks, and the annual out-of-pocket limit vary by plan.

The calculator keeps premium cost separate from medical cost-sharing so a lower premium isn't presented as the same thing as lower total healthcare cost.

Don't treat the premium comparison as the whole decision. Provider networks, prescription coverage, employer coordination, Medigap enrollment rights, financial assistance, deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and annual out-of-pocket limits can materially change the practical cost of a coverage choice.
2026 educational planning report

My Medicare Planning Report

Your personalized planning roadmap based on the information you entered. This report organizes enrollment timing, premium assumptions, planning checkpoints, and areas that warrant further verification.

Privacy: The calculator does not send your Medicare answers with validation feedback. Anonymous usage and feedback metrics may be used to improve the tool.

Report dateSeptember 22, 2026
Medicare timingFebruary 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026
Current coverageRetiree coverage / no current employment
Complete report will appear here after you build your summary.