Delima2000,
I am an independent insurance agent (offering several companies) for Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage, and Part D Prescription drug plans here in The Villages. I am 66 and know how you feel with all the different options! Of all the companies that I represent, when I turned 65, I chose Preferred Care Partners, and I was extremely satisfied. ButI had to change this month to an AARP Med Supp plan because I have to go to UofF/Shands for some treatments that no one here in The Villages does. (Shands/Mayo Clinic, etc. don't accept Medicare Advantage plans.) I hope to go back to Preferred Care Partners in the next Annual Enrollment period.
You mentioned you wanted to do a spreadsheet. The first place I would go to is the
Medicare.gov site. You can put in your informaton and select two different catagories: Medigap plans (i.e. Plans A-N) and it will show you all the companies that offer plans in your county, and their costs. (A quick summary for your spreadsheet!). You'll find AARP and Blue Cross are the most competitive. If you select a Med Supp, you'll also want to select a Part D drug plan.
You can do the same process for Medicare Advantage Plans in our area. They are a little harder to compare apples to apples! Most of them are $0 premium. Some plans are PPO, and some are HMO with networks of doctors and hospitals. Most Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drugs.
SHINE is a very good organization. They tend to put emphasis on Med Supps because they offer total flexiibiltiy, but if your doctors, and The Villages Hospital (beside the other local hospitals) are in a Medicare Advantage network, then they will provide very good coverage for less money.
Two comments people made above are incorrect. The Tier 3 drug costs at Preferred Care Partners is $55. I think they meant the Tier 1 (generics) and $0 cost. The Villages Insurance office offers free advice, but they are compensated by the insurance companies when someone signs up at their office!
I hope this helps a little