Advantage or Supplement?
Six questions about your doctors, your travel and your budget. Tells you which side of the Medicare fork actually fits — and why.
Find my plan typeFree tool
Will I pay for Part A?
Most people never do — 40 quarters of Medicare-covered work earns it premium-free for life. Below that there are two tiers, and a spouse's record can change the answer entirely.
2026 Part A
Calculated in your browser from 2026 figures. Nothing is transmitted or stored.
Social Security holds the official record of your quarters and makes the actual determination. This estimates from what you enter — check your real figure at ssa.gov/myaccount before planning around it.
How Part A eligibility works
Part A covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing after a qualifying stay, hospice and some home health care. Unlike Part B, most people pay nothing for it — because they already did, through payroll tax.
Quarters of coverage
You earn up to four "quarters of coverage" a year by working and paying Medicare taxes. The earnings needed per quarter are modest and adjust annually, so most people who worked a full year earn all four.
| Quarters | Roughly | 2026 monthly premium |
|---|---|---|
| 40+ | 10 years or more | $0 — premium-free for life |
| 30–39 | About 7½ to 10 years | $311 — the 45%-reduced premium |
| Under 30 | Under 7½ years | $565 — full premium |
Note the shape of it: there is no sliding scale. Thirty-nine quarters and forty quarters are $311 a month apart. If you are close to a threshold and still able to work, a few more quarters can be worth a great deal.
You may qualify on a spouse's record
This is the part people most often do not know, and it resolves the question completely for many of them. You can generally get premium-free Part A on your spouse's work record if you are 65 or older and:
- You are married and your spouse is at least 62 with 40 quarters, or
- You are divorced, the marriage lasted at least 10 years, and you have not remarried, or
- You are widowed, the marriage lasted at least 9 months, and you have not remarried before 60.
Somebody who spent their working life raising a family may have very few quarters of their own and still qualify for premium-free Part A. It is always worth checking before accepting a premium.
If you do have to pay
- Part B becomes mandatory. If you buy Part A, you must also enrol in and pay for Part B.
- The late enrollment penalty works differently. Premium Part A carries a 10% surcharge for late enrollment, but unlike Part B it lasts only twice the number of years you delayed — not for life. See late enrollment penalties.
- Help exists. Medicare Savings Programs can pay Part A and Part B premiums for people who qualify, and the income limits are higher than most assume.
- Working longer may still be an option. If you are within a few quarters of a threshold, that is often the cheapest fix available.
Whatever your Part A position, the cost-sharing is the same — the $1,736 deductible per benefit period and the daily coinsurance are identical whether you pay a premium or not. Those are covered in Medicare out-of-pocket costs.
Other tools
While you're here.
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2 min -
1 min Enrollment Window Checker
Enter your birthday and get your exact Initial Enrollment Period dates, your Medigap open enrollment window, and the deadlines that carry lifetime penalties.
Check my dates -
3 min Annual Cost Estimator
Compare what a year on a Medicare Advantage plan versus a Supplement plus Part D would realistically cost you — premiums, deductibles and expected visits included.
Estimate my year -
1 min IRMAA Surcharge Estimator
Higher income means a surcharge on Part B and Part D. See which bracket your tax return puts you in before the letter arrives.
Check my bracket -
2 min Plan G vs Plan N
Plan N costs less each month but adds copays and leaves excess charges to you. Find the number of visits where the two swap places.
Find my breakeven -
1 min Part B Giveback Estimator
Some Advantage plans pay back part of your Part B premium. See what a giveback is actually worth — and what it does not touch.
Estimate my giveback -
2 min Cost of Care Estimator
In-home help, assisted living or skilled nursing — what each realistically costs per year in Arizona, and what Medicare pays toward it.
Estimate care costs
Next step
Let’s look at your actual options.
One conversation, no cost, no obligation. Bring your prescription list and your doctors — that is all it takes to do real work. You’ll speak to Brian Penner directly.