Medigap vs. MA: the flat line against the slope
Medigap costs the same in a good year and a terrible one — premium times twelve plus the $283 Part B deductible. Medicare Advantage costs its premium plus whatever your year brings, up to the plan's out-of-pocket maximum. This calculator runs four utilization scenarios at once so the shape of the trade, not just one number, is visible.
Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage: the breakeven, all four years at once
Enter a real Medigap quote and an MA plan's premium, then read all four utilization scenarios at once — the point isn't one number, it's the shape: Medigap is flat, MA rides with your year.
Medigap column = premium ×12 + the $283 Part B deductible (Plan G's one gap); identical in every row — that flatness is the product. MA cost-sharing figures are labeled scenario models, not plan quotes; drug coverage is excluded on both sides (VA, TFL, or CHAMPVA usually carries it, and an MAPD vs. PDP choice has its own calculator). Medigap underwriting outside your guaranteed-issue window is the constraint neither column shows.
Estimates for educational purposes only — not a quote, plan recommendation, or guarantee of benefits or costs. This website is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. For information on all of your options, contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).
What the four rows are teaching
The Medigap column never moves — that flatness is the product: you pre-pay the bad year every month. The MA column is a slope, from a few hundred dollars of copays in a light year to the plan's MOOP (≤$9,250 in 2026, and many plans set lower) in a catastrophic one. The breakeven line the result names is just algebra — MA wins any year whose cost-sharing stays under the premium gap — but the decision isn't algebra: it's which column you'd rather be wrong in. Add the two facts the table can't hold: Medigap's go-anywhere access versus MA networks and prior authorization, and the one-way door — Medigap underwriting outside your guaranteed-issue window means the flat column may not be purchasable later at these prices.
The veteran overlay, by situation
- TFL and CHAMPVA households: close the tab. You already own the flat column free — the wraparound is Medigap without the premium. The calculator exists for the VA-only decision.
- VA-anchored veterans: your VA access discounts both columns' worst cases — civilian utilization is what you're pricing, which argues for honest scenario-picking rather than reflexive catastrophizing. The MA + VA page holds the extras (dental, hearing allowances, givebacks) the table deliberately omits.
- Under-65 disability Medicare: the Medigap column may be priced out or closed in your state — run the calculator with a real under-65 quote, not an age-65 fantasy, and remember the guaranteed reset at 65.
- The drug side is a separate fork — both columns here exclude it, because VA, TFL, or CHAMPVA usually carries it and the drug comparator prices that decision on its own.
Frequently asked questions
What does Medigap Plan G actually leave you to pay?
Are the MA scenario figures real plan numbers?
Why isn't drug coverage in the comparison?
Can I switch from MA to Medigap later if the bad year comes?
You earned these benefits. Make them work together.
Whether you keep exactly what you have or add Medicare coverage alongside it, the right answer depends on your health, budget, and how you like to get care.
No cost, no obligation. You can also get help from Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or your local SHIP office.