Articles
The questions people actually ask, answered straight.
We read the forums, the search trends, and the federal releases so these answer the Medicare questions of right now, not 2019. Every figure is a 2026 amount with the official source linked.
Deadlines that matter
Open enrollment 2026: the dates, the moves, and a 30-minute checklist
AEP runs October 15 to December 7 for January 1 coverage. What you can change, what AEP can’t do for Medigap, and the one-sitting checklist.
Read the answerThe real decision
Advantage vs. Original Medicare: the comparison with the downsides left in
$340–$460 all-in versus $203–$255 plus copays. The four facts that decide it, the myths from both camps, and the one-way door between paths.
Read the answerThe money page
What Medicare actually costs per month in 2026, all of it
$202.90 for Part B, $0 Part A for most, and every figure that stacks on top of each path, in one sourced table, with the legitimate ways to pay less.
Read the answerNew for 2026
Medicare now covers weight-loss GLP-1s. Here’s the $50-a-month fine print.
The GLP-1 Bridge launched July 1: Wegovy, Zepbound KwikPen, and Foundayo for a flat $50 monthly copay through 2027. It runs outside Part D, which changes the math.
Read the answerThe countdown
Turning 65: the Medicare checklist, month by month
The 7-month window as a timeline: what to do at 64, which months give you gap-free coverage, and the one deadline that can’t be cleanly redone.
Read the answerThe employer question
Working past 65: the answer hinges on one number
Twenty or more employees and you can delay penalty-free. Under twenty and Medicare is already primary. The COBRA myth, the HSA trap, and the exit sequence.
Read the answerFollow the money
Why your Medicare premium jumped to $202.90 this year
The Part B premium rose nearly 10% for 2026. Where the number comes from, who pays IRMAA surcharges up to $689.90, and the two-page form that lowers it after retirement.
Read the answerWatching the fall release
2027 Medicare premiums: what’s known now, and when the number drops
CMS announces in the fall. The three-year trend, the 25% formula that sets the figure, what’s already scheduled for 2027, and the moves that don’t need to wait.
Read the answerThe angry question
"Is Medicare Advantage a scam?" No. And the anger points at something real.
The product is regulated insurance; the ecosystem selling it includes actors who hide the tradeoffs. What’s legitimate, what’s predatory, and how to tell.
Read the answerMedigap, decoded
Plan G vs. Plan N: which one actually saves you money?
The forum favorite, settled with arithmetic: the $20 copays, the excess-charge risk, the eight states where it disappears, and the 27-visit break-even point.
Read the answerThe one-way door
Switching from Advantage back to Medigap: why it locks behind you
Leaving Advantage is easy. Passing Medigap underwriting afterward is not. The trial rights, the guaranteed-issue table, and the order of operations that protects you.
Read the answerPart D, decoded
The $2,100 drug cap: what counts, what doesn’t, and where the donut hole went
Catastrophic coverage now has a real ceiling. But only covered drugs count, the GLP-1 Bridge sits outside it, and the monthly smoothing option changes when you pay.
Read the answerCoverage, decoded
Does Medicare cover dental? Mostly no, and here’s the map around it
Original Medicare excludes routine dental entirely. The narrow medical exceptions, what Advantage dental caps really buy, and the honest math on every option.
Read the answerCoverage, decoded
Hearing aids and Medicare: the no, the exceptions, and the workarounds
Medicare pays $0 toward hearing aids. What Part B does cover, what Advantage allowances are worth, and how the OTC market cut real prices by 90%.
Read the answerThe hard one
Medicare and long-term care: the 100-day truth nobody wants
Medicare never pays for custodial care. The exact skilled-nursing benefit, the observation-status trap, and what actually funds a multi-year care need.
Read the answerFor veterans
VA benefits, TRICARE, and Medicare: two systems, one set of rules
VA care and Medicare never pay each other’s claims. Why most veterans take Part B anyway, why TRICARE For Life requires it, and the Part D exception.
Read the answerThe tax-time trap
HSAs and Medicare: stop contributing six months early, and here’s why
Any Medicare enrollment ends HSA contributions, and Part A backdates six months. The exact timeline, the Social Security trigger, and how to spend the account after 65.
Read the answerThe two-birthday problem
Your Medicare doesn’t cover your spouse. Here’s the bridge plan.
Medicare has no family tier. The four ways to cover a younger spouse until their own 65th birthday, what each costs, and the retirement-timing math couples skip.
Read the answerThe September envelope
The Annual Notice of Change: five numbers that decide your next year
Every September your plan discloses exactly how the deal changes in January. The five numbers to check, the tier-migration trap, and a worked read-through.
Read the answerLearn from strangers
The 7 Medicare mistakes strangers on the internet keep warning you about
Reddit and retirement forums repeat the same seven regrets: the COBRA myth, the HSA collision, the unread September envelope. Each one, with the rule that prevents it.
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