Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Supplement: How to Choose

The core difference

A Medicare Advantage plan replaces the way you receive your Medicare benefits. A private carrier administers your Part A and Part B coverage, usually bundles prescription drugs, and often adds extras. A Medicare Supplement, also called Medigap, keeps you on Original Medicare and pays much of the cost sharing Medicare leaves behind. With a Supplement you also buy a separate Part D drug plan.

Where Medicare Advantage tends to fit

Advantage plans often carry low or zero monthly premiums and bundle benefits into one card.

• Your preferred doctors and hospitals are already in the plan network
• You want dental, vision, hearing, or fitness benefits included
• You are comfortable with copays as you use care instead of a higher fixed premium
• You mostly receive care near home

Where Medicare Supplement tends to fit

Supplements cost more each month and give you far more predictability in return.

• You want to see any provider in the country that accepts Medicare
• You travel often or split the year between two states
• You expect significant care and want to limit out of pocket surprises
• You prefer paying a steady premium over variable copays

The question people forget to ask

Medical underwriting matters. When you first become eligible you generally have a one time window to buy a Medicare Supplement without health questions. Later on, in most states, a carrier can review your health before approving a Supplement. That makes the first decision more consequential than it appears, which is why it is worth reviewing carefully rather than choosing on premium alone.