Medicare plan finder: which plans are worth your time?
Most people don't need to read forty plans. They need to know which three shapes fit them and which carriers their hospital takes. Eight questions, no account, nothing sent unless you choose to.
Eight questions, about two minutes, and nothing is sent unless you choose to send it. The finder narrows Medicare in your county to the plan types worth pricing (HMO, PPO, D-SNP, or Original Medicare with Medigap), shows which carriers your hospital system lists on its own accepted-insurance page, flags the things that decide the choice (drug list, retiree coverage, Medicaid, travel), and hands your answers to me if you want the plans that fit them. It ends with the names of the plans I can enroll you in that fit, in your county, but no premiums, benefits or star ratings; those are the conversation, checked against your doctors and prescriptions.
This is the sorting I do in my head in the first five minutes of a Medicare call. It doesn't ask for your Medicare number, your income or your date of birth; it asks the eight things that decide which plan shapes are worth your time in your county, and which carriers the hospital you'd actually use has on its list.
This finder needs JavaScript
Your browser has scripts turned off, so the interactive version can't run here. The eight questions are listed below; answer them on paper and send me your notes, or call (518) 902-8822.
How the finder works
Each answer fills in a profile: county, hospital, plan type, travel, drugs, help paying, other coverage, and the New York fallback. At the end you get a short verdict (HMO first; PPO first; price Medigap alongside; start with the dual-eligible plans; or check NYSHIP before anything) and the findings in the order to check them, each with the question to ask me. It ends with the names of the plans I can enroll you in that fit your county, plan type and hospital; no premiums, benefits or star ratings, which come from the comparison I run against your doctors and prescriptions.
The hospital finding is a first screen, not a network check: it uses what Albany Med Health System, St. Peter's Health Partners and Ellis Medicine publish on their own accepted-insurance pages, as I last read them on October 15, 2026. A carrier on a hospital's list does not mean every plan from that carrier covers that hospital, and a carrier missing from the list is unverified, not excluded; the plan's own provider directory is the final check. It is the same file that drives the hospitals page.
The eight questions
- Which county do you live in? Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren or Washington. Plans are filed and priced by county.
- Which hospital do you want to be able to use? Albany Medical Center, St. Peter's / Samaritan, Ellis, Saratoga Hospital, Glens Falls Hospital, or more than one.
- Are your doctors all in one health system? This is the HMO-or-PPO question.
- Do you spend part of the year away? Short trips, a few weeks, or months at a time.
- What do your prescriptions look like? None, a few generics, or brand-name and specialty drugs.
- Do you have Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program or Extra Help? Each has different rules: Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program can open the dual-eligible plans (D-SNPs), full Medicaid allows a monthly move into an integrated one, and Medicaid or Extra Help allows a monthly change of stand-alone drug plan.
- How do you feel about referrals and prior authorization? The trade behind every Advantage plan.
- Do you have retiree, union or VA coverage? NYSHIP in particular has to be checked before enrolling in anything.
What to do with the result
Send it. The "Send my answers" button attaches your answers to the contact form; add your name and number and I'll come back with the plans I can offer that fit them, checked against your doctors and your drug list, at no fee. If you'd rather browse first, the county pages (Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren, Washington) cover each county's hospitals and quirks, Medicare Advantage plans in New York covers the statewide rules, and Advantage vs Medigap puts the two routes side by side in dollars.
- Accepted insurance (Albany Med Health System) — Albany Medical Center, Saratoga Hospital, Glens Falls
- Accepted insurance (St. Peter's Health Partners) — St. Peter's, Samaritan, Sunnyview
- Participating insurance listing (Ellis Medicine)
- Medicare Savings Programs 2026 (NY Department of Health) — $1,836 + $20 / $2,489 + $20; no asset test
- Final CY 2026 Part D redesign instructions (CMS) — $2,100 out-of-pocket cap
- Joining a plan: enrollment periods (Medicare.gov)
- Information for Medicare beneficiaries: Medigap in New York (NY DFS) — year-round guaranteed issue
- Marketing and communications definitions, 42 CFR §422.2260 (eCFR) — why the finder shows plan names and types but no premiums or benefits
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.
Why does the finder show plan names but no premiums?
Medicare's marketing rules treat any agent material that names a plan alongside its premium, benefits or star rating as marketing that must be filed with Medicare through the carrier; a plan's name and type on their own are not. So the finder ends with the names of the plans I can enroll you in that match your county, plan type and hospital, from the CMS plan file, and stops there. The premium is the least useful number anyway: the plan that fits is decided by your doctors, your hospital and your drug list, which no eight-question tool can see. I run the actual plans against your details.
Where does the hospital information come from?
From each system's own published accepted-insurance page (Albany Med Health System, St. Peter's Health Partners, Ellis Medicine), re-read October 15, 2026, before the Annual Enrollment Period, and re-checked every October. The full table with notes is on the hospitals page. A carrier on a list doesn't mean every plan or every physician group is in network; the specific plan's directory is the final check.
Where do my answers go?
Nowhere unless you choose. The finder runs in your browser and remembers your answers on your own device so a refresh doesn't lose them. Only the "Send my answers" button attaches them to the contact form, and only when you submit it.
What about Medicare's own Plan Finder?
Use it too. medicare.gov/plan-compare lists every plan sold at your ZIP code with premiums and drug costs, and it's the official source. This finder does what it can't: tell you which shapes fit your situation and which carriers your hospital lists, before you read forty plans. I can enroll you only in the plans I'm appointed for, and I'll say which.
I live outside the Capital Region. Can I use it?
The plan-type logic applies anywhere in New York; the hospital lists cover the Capital Region and Glens Falls only. If you live in one of the other counties I cover by phone and video, from Montgomery to Dutchess, answer the hospital question with "more than one, or not sure" and use your county page for the plan list. Elsewhere in New York the same answer works, and Medicare's own Plan Finder shows the plans at your ZIP code.
Ask for a Medicare comparison
Your doctors, your prescriptions and your ZIP code are all I need to start. No fee for plan comparison or enrollment.