How we compare Medicare Advantage plans
Written by the My Plan Compass team. Last reviewed October 26, 2026.
We rank Medicare Advantage plans by how well they fit the answers you give us: your doctors, your prescriptions, your budget and what you say matters most. Here is what goes into that, where the information comes from, and what we cannot promise.
What we compare
Medicare Advantage plans, with and without drug coverage, that are offered in your county. We do not compare Original Medicare, Medicare Supplement (Medigap) or standalone Part D drug plans. For those, use Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.
How your answers decide the ranking
Each plan gets a score from the factors below. Your answers set how much each one counts. If you tell us keeping your doctors does not matter, doctor networks count for nothing and we do not ask you to list them. Nothing else changes the order.
- Estimated yearly cost
- Premiums, your prescriptions at the pharmacy you choose, and medical costs for a common pattern of use.
- Protection from big bills
- Each plan's yearly out-of-pocket maximum and deductibles.
- Your prescriptions
- Whether each drug is on the plan's list of covered drugs, and any restrictions.
- Your doctors
- Whether each doctor you add is in the plan's network, when you tell us keeping them matters.
- Extra benefits
- Dental, vision, hearing and similar allowances. These count in dollars, and a dollar of allowance never counts for more than a dollar you would actually pay.
- Plans built for your situation
- Special Needs Plans when your answers show you qualify, for example if you have Medicaid.
Our ranking cannot see commissions or anything an insurance company might pay. A plan that pays us nothing can still come out on top.
Where the information comes from
- Plans, premiums and benefits
- The plan files the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes for every Medicare Advantage plan, by county.
- Drug coverage and prices
- CMS's Part D formulary and pricing files.
- Star Ratings
- CMS's yearly plan quality ratings. We show them on each plan. They do not change the ranking.
- Doctor networks
- The public provider directories that insurance companies are required to publish, checked for the exact plan.
We load each plan year when CMS publishes it in the fall, and newer CMS files as they come out. Each result says which plan year it shows.
What we cannot promise
- Costs are estimates. Your real costs depend on the care you use. Some 2027 drug prices are estimated from 2026 prices (or Medicare's negotiated price, for drugs that have one) until CMS publishes its 2027 pricing files. When an estimate is incomplete, the plan says so.
- Doctor directories can be wrong or out of date. When we cannot reach a plan's directory, or it does not answer clearly, we show the doctor as not checked. We never show that as out of network. Call the doctor's office to confirm before you enroll.
- Choosing a plan here does not enroll you. Confirm the details with the plan, then enroll on Medicare.gov or with the plan.
Who we are and how we are funded
My Plan Compass is an independent service. We are not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. Right now no one pays us: it costs you nothing, and we never sell your information. However we earn in the future, it will not change which plans we recommend, because our ranking cannot see compensation.
Found a mistake?
Tell us at support@myplancompass.com or through our contact page. We read every message and correct this page and our guides when we get something wrong. See our Medicare guides for plain-English help with choosing and changing plans.