Medicare Works to Fix Tech Glitches in New Plan Finder Tool

With Medicare open enrollment underway, health officials are working to fix data glitches and inaccuracies in the new provider listings for Medicare Advantage plans featured on the Medicare Plan Finder. ​

Located on Medicare.gov, the Plan Finder is the federal government’s main consumer tool to compare and shop for private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which are offered by insurers, and stand-alone Part D plans, which are used by beneficiaries in original Medicare. ​

The Plan Finder’s MA provider listings, which are being offered for the first time for 2026 enrollment, aim to make it easier for consumers to see if their hospitals, doctors and other health providers are in-network for an MA plan. Previously, consumers had to visit the plan’s website, contact the company directly or work with an insurance broker to get that information. ​

Having all the information in one place “is a step toward addressing a long-standing shortcoming for the Plan Finder,” says Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, associate director for the program on Medicare policy at the health policy nonprofit KFF. ​

But the new provider directory — which was compiled in recent weeks and posted on Medicare’s website earlier this month — “frequently produces erroneous and conflicting information” about which provider locations are in-network, prompting a “scramble inside the federal government to fix it,” The Washington Post reported.

​If left unaddressed, “the problems could confuse older adults as they sift through dozens of options, or force them to foot the bill for regular medical appointments” with providers they mistakenly thought were in-network, the story added. ​

In a statement provided to AARP, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) attributes the problems to technology glitches. “As with any new data integration and IT launch,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “has identified and is addressing some user interface and data alignment issues to ensure the best possible experience,” the HHS statement says. ​

The directory uses “commercially available provider network data that has the same or greater accuracy than the data typically supplied individually by health plans,” HHS says. ​