Platform Features
Verd combines federal healthcare expenditure data, Monte Carlo cost simulation, and pharmacy benefit analysis to identify the plan that minimizes your total annual cost of coverage — across every major insurance program in the United States.
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Every recommendation follows a five-stage analytical pipeline. We do not use heuristics or simplified rule sets. Each stage processes real data to produce a statistically grounded cost projection for every eligible plan.
We collect your age, household size, income, prescriptions, chronic conditions, preferred providers, and anticipated procedures. No account required for the initial analysis.
Your profile is matched against 412,000+ person-level records from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to build a utilization distribution. We identify spending patterns among demographically and clinically similar cohorts — not national averages.
For each eligible plan, we run stochastic simulations sampling from your matched utilization distribution. Each simulation applies the plan's actual benefit design: deductible, copay schedule, coinsurance tiers, out-of-pocket maximum, and pharmacy formulary placement.
Plans are ranked by expected total annual cost at the median, 75th, and 95th percentiles. We also score pharmacy benefit coverage, network adequacy, and provider access. The result is a composite ranking weighted to your risk tolerance.
Your top-ranked plan is presented with a full cost breakdown: premiums, expected out-of-pocket, tax-advantaged account contributions, and net annual cost. We show best-case, likely, and worst-case scenarios with confidence intervals.
Evidence Base
Every recommendation is grounded in peer-reviewed federal datasets — the same sources used by CBO, HHS, and academic health economists. We do not rely on self-reported surveys or proprietary insurance industry data.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Our matching engine evaluates every eligible plan across ACA Marketplace, FEHB, Medicare and Medicare Advantage (including Special Needs Plans), Medigap, Medicaid, employer-sponsored coverage, TRICARE, VA/CHAMPVA, and COBRA. Instead of filtering by premium alone, we compute actuarial value against your specific utilization profile — factoring in formulary placement for each of your prescriptions, provider network inclusion, and the interaction between deductible structure and your projected service mix.
Traditional plan comparisons use a single “expected” cost figure. That approach fails because healthcare spending is stochastic — a single ER visit or unexpected diagnosis can shift your annual costs by thousands. Verd runs Monte Carlo simulations for each plan, sampling from your matched MEPS utilization distribution to produce a full probability distribution of annual costs. You see the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentile outcomes for every plan under consideration.
After enrollment, Verd tracks your real-world utilization against projections. The dashboard monitors deductible accumulation, out-of-pocket progress toward your maximum, and prescription refill timing. Smart alerts notify you when elective procedures should be scheduled to minimize cost — for example, consolidating services in a year when you have already met your deductible, or deferring when you are close to a plan year boundary.
Tax-advantaged accounts are the most powerful — and most misunderstood — tool in health insurance. An HDHP with an HSA can outperform a low-deductible PPO by $1,500+ annually for the right profile, but only with correct contribution sizing. Verd calculates the optimal contribution based on your projected utilization, marginal tax rate, and state tax treatment. For FSAs, we model the use-it-or-lose-it constraint and carryover limits to prevent forfeiture.
Qualifying life events — marriage, birth/adoption, job loss, relocation, aging off a parent’s plan at 26, Medicare eligibility at 65 — trigger Special Enrollment Periods that allow mid-year plan changes. Verd monitors for these events and automatically re-runs the full optimization pipeline with your updated profile. This is critical because the optimal plan often changes dramatically after a life event: a birth adds pediatric utilization, a job change may eliminate employer coverage, and turning 65 introduces Medicare Parts A/B/C/D and Medigap into the analysis.
Family coverage is a combinatorial problem. A family of four with two employer plans available may have dozens of viable configurations: all on one plan, adults split across employers, children on CHIP, a spouse on a Marketplace plan for PTC eligibility. Verd evaluates every permutation, including the “family glitch” fix that expanded Marketplace subsidy eligibility for family members when employer coverage is unaffordable at the family tier.
Insurance documents are written for lawyers, not patients. The Verd Assistant is an AI advisor that explains your specific plan in plain language — your deductible, your coinsurance, your prior authorization requirements, your formulary tiers — and answers any healthcare or insurance question you have, any time. Because it is connected to your dashboard, it knows your deductible progress, projected spending, and subsidy eligibility, so answers come back with your actual dollar figures instead of generic guidance.
Comprehensive Coverage
Most comparison tools only handle ACA Marketplace plans. Verd analyzes every major federal and private insurance program — including Special Needs Plans and the assistance programs most tools ignore entirely — because the optimal coverage for a given individual may exist in any of them, and eligibility often spans multiple programs simultaneously.
Individual and family plans across Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum metal tiers. We model Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSR) on Silver plans for eligible households, Premium Tax Credit amounts, and the interaction between metal tier and utilization profile. Includes on- and off-exchange plan comparison.
Over 250 plan options available to federal employees, retirees, and eligible family members. We parse FEHB brochures to extract benefit design details not available in structured data, including dental/vision riders and plan-specific formulary rules.
Original Medicare with Part A hospital insurance and Part B medical insurance. We model Part B premium surcharges (IRMAA) based on MAGI, Part A late enrollment penalties, and the coverage gap between Original Medicare and supplemental options.
MA plans from private insurers that bundle Parts A, B, and often D. We analyze MA-PD plan benefit packages including maximum out-of-pocket limits, supplemental benefits (dental, vision, hearing, fitness), and SNP/D-SNP eligibility for dual-eligible beneficiaries.
Standalone Part D prescription drug plans with formulary-level analysis: tier placement, prior authorization requirements, step therapy protocols, and the coverage gap (donut hole). Medigap plans A through N compared against MA alternatives.
Income-based eligibility determination using Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) methodology. State-specific expansion status, medically needy pathways, and CHIP income thresholds. Critical for families near the Medicaid/Marketplace eligibility boundary.
Analysis of employer plan options including HDHP/HSA, PPO, HMO, and POS configurations. We model employer premium contributions, HDHP qualification for HSA eligibility, and affordability testing under the ACA employer mandate.
Military health coverage including TRICARE Prime, Select, For Life, and Young Adult. Eligibility based on uniformed service status, retirement category, and dependent relationships. Cost comparison against civilian alternatives when dual eligibility exists.
VA enrollment priority groups for veterans and CHAMPVA coverage for eligible spouses and dependents. We model how VA care coordinates with Medicare, employer coverage, and Marketplace plans — and when carrying secondary coverage alongside VA care pays off.
Temporary continuation of employer group coverage for 18 or 36 months after qualifying events. We calculate the full unsubsidized premium cost and compare against ACA Marketplace plans with potential PTC eligibility — COBRA is often not the best option.
Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans for dual-eligible beneficiaries (D-SNP) and people with qualifying chronic conditions (C-SNP). We screen for eligibility, compare SNP benefit packages against standard MA and Original Medicare options, and flag care coordination benefits.
Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI) that pay Part B premiums and cost sharing, Extra Help/LIS for Part D drug costs, and CHIP advisories for children in households near eligibility thresholds. These programs are chronically under-enrolled — we check every profile for them.
Clear Advantage
Insurance brokers earn commissions from the plans they sell. Manual research takes dozens of hours and still misses critical variables. Verd is the first approach that combines comprehensive data, actuarial methods, and zero financial conflicts of interest.
| Dimension | Verd | Insurance Broker | Manual Research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Sources | MEPS, CMS, IRS, USPSTF — 412K+ person-level records | Carrier-provided rate sheets and personal experience | Healthcare.gov or individual carrier websites |
| Plan Coverage | ACA, FEHB, Medicare A/B/C/D, Medigap, SNPs, Medicaid, employer, TRICARE, VA/CHAMPVA, COBRA, plus MSP and Extra Help screening | Typically 1-2 programs; limited by carrier appointments | Whatever programs you know to search for |
| Cost Analysis | Monte Carlo simulation with percentile-based projections | Rough estimates based on premium and deductible | Premium comparison; OOP costs estimated or ignored |
| Rx Analysis | Formulary-level tier placement, PA flags, step therapy, quantity limits | Basic formulary check if requested | Manual lookup per drug per plan |
| Network Analysis | Provider-level network matching with adequacy scoring | General network type (HMO/PPO) guidance | Manual provider directory search per plan |
| Tax Optimization | HSA/FSA contribution optimization, PTC modeling, IRMAA projection | Generic HSA/FSA awareness; no modeling | Requires separate tax advisor |
| Time Required | Under 5 minutes | 1-3 appointments over 1-2 weeks | 10-40+ hours of research |
| Cost | Free core analysis; Pro for ongoing monitoring | Free to you — broker earns 3-8% commission from carrier | Free, but high opportunity cost |
| Bias | No carrier affiliations, no commissions, no conflicts | Commission-driven; limited to appointed carriers | Subject to plan marketing and anchoring effects |
And more
Every plan rendered in a consistent format: deductible structure, copay schedule, coinsurance rates, OOP max, and embedded vs. non-embedded deductible status. No more parsing 40-page plan brochures.
Adjust health assumptions — add a planned surgery, pregnancy, or new chronic condition — and instantly see re-ranked results. Each scenario re-runs the full simulation pipeline, not a simplified estimate.
Network adequacy analysis beyond simple in/out-of-network checks. We score breadth of specialty coverage, geographic accessibility, and whether your specific providers participate in each plan's network.
Expert-authored guides covering metal tier selection, HDHP vs. PPO tradeoffs, Medicare enrollment windows, and common costly mistakes. Written for clarity, not to push a particular plan type.
Separate profiles for each household member with individual health histories, prescription lists, and provider preferences. The optimizer evaluates coverage combinations across all members simultaneously.
During open enrollment, Verd re-evaluates every plan with updated rates, formulary changes, and your current year's utilization data. Plans that were optimal last year may not be this year — we catch the difference.
Get a personalized, data-driven recommendation in under five minutes — completely free.
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