How these pages are prepared and checked
Medicare, Social Security and insurance rules change every year, and a page that was right last fall can be wrong now. This is how I keep these pages accurate, and how you can tell me when one isn't.
Every factual claim on this site comes from a primary source, linked in the Sources list on the page: Medicare.gov and CMS for Medicare, the Social Security Administration for Social Security, the NY Department of Financial Services for licenses and Medigap rates, and the New York agency or federal rule behind each insurance requirement. Yearly figures sit in one place and are rolled forward when the agency publishes the new year, and county plan counts are computed from CMS's own plan file rather than typed in. The pages are prepared with AI-assisted research from those primary sources and published under my name and license, and I answer for what they say. If you find something wrong, email me the page and the line, and I check it against the source and correct it.
How a page is put together
Pages are prepared with AI-assisted research and drafting from the primary sources below, with every figure and rule checked against its source, and published under my name and New York license. The byline says "Published by" for that reason. A page I have personally reviewed line by line says "Reviewed by".
Primary sources, linked on every page
Each page ends with a Sources list that links the official source for what it says: Medicare.gov and CMS, the Social Security Administration, the NY Department of Financial Services, the NY Department of Health and NY State of Health, the Workers' Compensation Board, the IRS, and the statutes and regulations themselves on eCFR and the New York Senate's site. Where no agency publishes a number, such as average marketplace premiums, the page names the research source (for example KFF) and the date of its data.
Yearly figures, kept in one place
Figures that change every year, such as the Part B premium, deductibles, income limits and the Part D cap, are stored once and shown on every page from that single source, with the year beside them. When an agency publishes the next year's figure, I record it with its source and roll every page forward together, so one page can't say one number while another says the old one.
- Medicare premiums and deductibles: when CMS announces them, usually in the fall, effective January 1.
- Medicare Advantage and Part D plans: when CMS publishes the landscape file for the coming plan year, usually by the start of October.
- Medigap rates: when the NY Department of Financial Services publishes new approved rates. The current table took effect October 1, 2026.
- Hospital network lists: taken from each hospital system's own accepted-insurance page, with the date they were read shown on the page.
How the county plan counts are produced
The county plan pages and the 2027 plan counts are computed from the CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D landscape file, contract year 2027, read October 27, 2026. A script reads every Medicare Advantage plan filed in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties, records each plan's name, carrier, type and whether it is a Special Needs Plan, and counts them. Year-to-year changes are matched plan by plan on Medicare's plan ID, so a renamed or renumbered plan counts as continuing rather than as one plan leaving and another arriving. The same file sets the "organizations and products" numbers in the disclaimer that Medicare requires on these pages.
What these pages don't do
- No plan names next to premiums, benefits or star ratings. Medicare's marketing rules require such material to be filed first, so the comparison of costs happens with your own doctors and prescriptions, not on a web page.
- No claims I can't back up. No "best", "top-rated" or "#1" about myself, no savings promises, and nothing that suggests I work for Medicare or Social Security. Where the word "best" appears, it is in a question people ask, followed by how to judge it.
- How I'm paid is public. Carriers pay me a commission when you buy through me; what it costs explains it, including New York's required compensation disclosure.
Corrections
If something on a page is wrong or out of date, email ibrahim@afyoninsurance.com with the page address and the sentence, and the source if you have one, or call (518) 902-8822. I check it against the primary source and correct the page if it is wrong.
- CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D landscape files — the plan files behind the county plan pages
- NY DFS Medicare Supplement rate comparison, effective October 1, 2026 — the Medigap rate table
- 42 CFR §422.2260, what counts as Medicare Advantage marketing (eCFR)
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 10 organizations which offer 81 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options. 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Insurers' legal names and home offices: carriers page.
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Still have a question? Call (518) 902-8822 or book a call.
Who prepares the pages on this site?
The pages are prepared with AI-assisted research from primary sources and published under the name and license of Ibrahim Afyon, a New York–licensed insurance agent and broker (NPN 21711447) and Registered Social Security Analyst (RSSA® #9932). Each page carries his name and license line, and he is responsible for what it says.
Where do the numbers come from?
From the agency that sets them: CMS and Medicare.gov for premiums, deductibles and plan files; the Social Security Administration for benefit rules; the NY Department of Financial Services for Medigap rates and license records; New York and federal statutes and regulations for legal requirements. Market data that no agency publishes, such as average premiums, comes from named research sources like KFF, and says so.
How do I report a mistake?
Email ibrahim@afyoninsurance.com with the page address and the sentence that looks wrong, and the source if you have one. I check it against the primary source and correct the page if it is wrong.
Let's talk it through
A phone call or a message is all it takes. The first conversation is just a conversation.