Choosing Medicare Coverage and Building a Retirement Healthcare Budget

Medicare choices feel overwhelming because there are many options and many edge cases. This hands-on course walks you through choosing coverage and building a healthcare budget with templates designed to handle real situations. By the end of this course you will have a written enrollment plan, a comparison of original Medicare with Medigap and at least two Medicare Advantage options, a prescription drug plan selection, a healthcare budget for the first five years of retirement, and a checklist of annual reviews. What you will learn: - How to map enrollment dates against your retirement and current coverage timeline - How to compare original Medicare with Medigap against Medicare Advantage on cost, networks, and flexibility - How to evaluate prescription drug plans based on your specific medications - How to choose Medigap plans and understand standardized plan letters - How to budget for premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, dental, vision, and hearing across retirement - How to plan for long-term care possibilities without overestimating insurance solutions - How to schedule the annual review during open enrollment to keep coverage aligned with needs The course is structured as a workbook. Each module covers one decision, provides templates, walks through a filled example, and guides you to complete your own version. This course is written for adults approaching Medicare eligibility or already enrolled. By the end you will have replaced second-hand impressions and salesperson pressure with a documented set of decisions, and the coverage you have will reflect deliberate comparison rather than the first option presented.