Health coverage is priced from several pieces at once, which is why the total is hard to picture: a Part B premium set by law, an income-related surcharge that depends on a tax return filed two years ago, a supplement or Advantage plan you choose, a separate drug plan, and whatever care you actually use during the year.
This calculator puts those pieces in one place for a household of one or two people, each with their own coverage. Statutory amounts come from the published tables and are exact. Plan premiums are yours to enter — seeded values are national ballparks, not quotes. Care costs are shown as a planning range, and where a coverage choice has no yearly limit on what you could owe, it says so rather than inventing a ceiling.
It compares nothing and sells nothing: for the plans actually offered where you live, use Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder and a free SHIP counselor. This answers the budgeting question those tools leave open — what should we expect the year to cost?
What you can do
- Per-person coverage: Medicare with a supplement, Medicare Advantage, Medicare alone, a job plan, Marketplace, or other
- Income-related surcharge (IRMAA) worked out per person and per tax return
- Shows how far your income sits below the next surcharge line, and what crossing it costs
- Separate medical and prescription out-of-pocket estimates, capped where a real cap exists
- Household totals for one person or a couple, including mixed Medicare and employer coverage
Frequently asked questions
Which year’s figures does this use?
The current published statutory year. Premiums, deductibles, and the income-surcharge brackets are taken from the official CMS and Social Security tables for that year, and a saved plan stays pinned to the year it was built with rather than silently restating itself in different dollars.
Why does it ask about a tax return from two years ago?
Medicare sets the income-related surcharge from the most recent return it has, which is generally the one filed two years earlier. If your income has dropped since — retiring counts as a qualifying life change — Social Security can use a more recent year instead; Form SSA-44 is how you ask.
If we are married, do we both pay the income surcharge?
Each person on Medicare pays it separately, based on the income reported on the return that covers them. For a couple who both have Medicare and filed jointly, crossing one income line therefore adds the surcharge twice — which is why the calculator shows the household cost of crossing rather than a single-person figure.
Are these real prices?
Statutory amounts are exact. Everything else is either a figure you entered or a labelled national ballpark, and out-of-pocket care is a planning range rather than a prediction. Real supplement, Advantage, and drug plan prices vary by county, carrier, and age, so confirm them against written plan documents before deciding anything.
Does it work before 65?
Yes. Coverage is chosen per person, so an employer or Marketplace plan is priced the same way — useful for households in the transition years where one person is already on Medicare and the other is not.
Ready to plan?
The Healthcare Cost Calculator runs entirely in your browser. Free, no sign-up required to use it.
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