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, nothing leaves your browser. 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 doesn't show plan names, premiums or star ratings; that's 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. Nothing here names a plan, quotes a premium or shows a star rating; those come from the comparison I run against your doctors and prescriptions, for the plans I'm authorized to offer.
The hospital finding is live data: it reads what Albany Med Health System, St. Peter's Health Partners and Ellis Medicine publish on their own accepted-insurance pages, the same file that drives the hospitals page.
The eight questions
- Which county do you live in? Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady or Rensselaer. 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, 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? These open the D-SNPs and the monthly switching right.
- 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) 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 types, not plan names and premiums
I do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information I provide is limited to the plans I do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program for information on all of your options. Not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Social Security Administration or the federal Medicare program.
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Why doesn't the finder show plan names and premiums?
Two reasons. 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, so a page that did that would be out of date the day the filing lagged. More importantly, the premium is the least useful number: the plan that fits is decided by your doctors, your hospital and your drug list, which no eight-question tool can see. The finder narrows to the shapes worth pricing; 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), read for the 2026 plan year and re-checked every October before the Annual Enrollment Period. 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 four counties. Can I use it?
The plan-type logic applies anywhere in New York; the hospital lists are Capital Region only. If you're elsewhere in the state, answer the hospital question with "more than one, or not sure" and the rest still works, and the county pages are simply not yours.
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.