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The Medicare Decision Map.
A printable 12-page PDF with the exact questions I wish every family asked before they made their Medicare choices. Written by a licensed agent. No sales pitch.
- The 12 questions to answer before you enroll From "what's my current coverage really doing?" to "which prescriptions do I actually take?" — fill these in on paper and everything else gets easier.
- The three enrollment windows you can't afford to miss Your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period, the 6-month Medigap guaranteed-issue window, and the annual AEP. Each with its exact dates and what it does.
- Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage on one page A side-by-side comparison of the two paths — network, cost, travel, extras, risk — so you can see where you naturally fall.
- The costs to expect (and the ones you won't see coming) Part B's uncapped 20%. IRMAA cliffs for higher earners. The HSA trap. The Part D formulary gotcha. Explained in one page each.
Who this is for
If you recognize yourself in any of these, the Map is for you.
You're turning 65 in the next 12 months.
And the mail has started arriving. You don't know which of it matters and which is junk.
You're still working and unsure what to do.
Your employer's HR rep says "just ask Medicare." Medicare says "just ask HR." Both are wrong.
You're helping a parent figure this out.
You're trying to make sense of it so you can walk them through it without making it worse.
Before you sign up
A few fair questions.
Is this really free? What's the catch?
It's really free. The only "catch" is that you'll also be on the Sunday email list, which sends one Medicare article a week. You can unsubscribe in one click, and I never sell, share, or broker your email to insurance carriers or lead-generation companies. This isn't a Medicare sales funnel — I don't take appointments to discuss specific plans and I don't earn commission on anything you enroll in. The Map is the Map.
Will you try to sell me a plan?
No. I hold a Florida 2-40 health insurance license and I'm AHIP-certified, but I don't solicit Medicare enrollments through this site and I'm not compensated by any insurance carrier for what I publish. If you want human help picking a plan, the right call is your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — free, trained, and unaffiliated. I'll point you there plenty, and I'll never take commission on any plan you end up choosing.
Do I need to know anything about Medicare already?
No. The Map assumes you know roughly nothing about Medicare, which is true for almost everyone the first time they encounter it. Every term is defined the first time it appears.
What if I'm helping a parent, not signing up myself?
The Map works either way. A lot of readers are adult children trying to help a parent figure this out — the questions are just as useful when you're sitting across the kitchen table with them.
Last thing
Ready when you are.
The Medicare Decision Map, sent to your inbox in about 2 minutes. Read it at the kitchen table. Bring it to your enrollment meeting. No strings.