What is Medigap?
A Medigap policy is private health insurance that helps supplement Original Medicare. This means it helps pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover (like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles). These are “gaps” in Medicare coverage. If you have Original Medicare and a Medigap policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amounts for covered health care costs. Then your Medigap policy pays its share. A Medigap policy is different from a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) because those plans are ways to get Medicare benefits. In contrast, a Medigap policy only supplements the costs of your Original Medicare benefits. Note: Medicare doesn’t pay any of your expenses for a Medigap policy.
All Medigap policies must follow federal and state laws designed to protect you, and policies must be identified as “Medicare Supplement Insurance.” Medigap insurance companies in most states can only sell you a “standardized” Medigap policy identified by letters A through N. Each standardized Medigap policy must offer the same essential benefits, no matter which insurance company sells it. Cost is usually the only difference between Medigap policies with the same letter sold by different insurance companies.
In Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, Medigap policies are standardized in a different way. In some states, you may be able to buy another type of Medigap policy called Medicare SELECT. Medicare SELECT plans are standardized plans that may require you to see certain providers and may cost less than other plans.
What Medigap Policies Cover
This chart shows basic information about the different benefits that Medigap policies cover. If a percentage appears, the Medigap plan covers that percentage, and you must pay the rest.
Medicare Supplement Insurance
Medigap Plans Compared
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| Benefits | A | B | C | D | F* | G* | K | L | M | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A coinsurance and hospital costs (up to 365 extra days) | ||||||||||
| Part B coinsurance or copayment | 50% | 75% | † | |||||||
| Blood (first 3 pints) | 50% | 75% | ||||||||
| Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment | 50% | 75% | ||||||||
| Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance | 50% | 75% | ||||||||
| Part A deductible$1,736 in 2026 | 50% | 75% | 50% | |||||||
| Part B deductible$283 in 2026 | ||||||||||
| Part B excess charges | ||||||||||
| Foreign travel emergency (up to plan limits) | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | ||||
| Yearly out-of-pocket limit2026 limits | $8,000 | $4,000 |
* Plans F and G also come in a high-deductible version. You pay Medicare-covered costs up to the deductible ($2,950 in 2026) before the plan pays.
Plans C and F are available only if you were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.
Plans K and L pay 100% of covered services for the rest of the year once you reach the yearly out-of-pocket limit ($8,000 for Plan K and $4,000 for Plan L in 2026) and the Part B deductible.
† Plan N pays 100% of Part B coinsurance, except up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for ER visits that don’t result in an inpatient admission.
Insurance companies selling Medigap policies are required to make Plan A available. If they offer any other Medigap policy, they must also offer Plan C or Plan F to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, and Plan D or Plan G to people who became eligible on or after that date. Not all types of Medigap policies may be available in your state. Plans D and G, effective on or after June 1, 2010, have different benefits than Plans D or G bought before June 1, 2010. Plans E, H, I, and J are no longer sold, but if you already have one, you can generally keep it.
Medicare Supplement plans are offered by private insurance companies. They’re meant to help with some of the out-of-pocket health care costs associated with Original Medicare, such as copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. There are 10 different Medicare supplements: Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Each offers its own mix of benefits at its own price, so you can match coverage to your needs.
Medicare Supplement Insurance (or Medigap) plans exist because Parts A and B, on their own, offer solid coverage but leave you responsible for deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments with no yearly cap on what you spend.
Besides Medigap, your other options include Medicare Advantage and Part D. Medicare Advantage is a full alternative to Original Medicare that bundles your coverage into one private plan, often with some extra benefits. A Medigap policy, as the name implies, is a supplement that works alongside Original Medicare.
Medigap and Drug Coverage
Medigap plans sold today do not include prescription drug coverage. If you want help paying for prescriptions, you can pair your Medigap policy with a separate Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Some people still have an older Medigap policy that includes drug coverage. You can’t have that drug coverage and a Part D plan at the same time, so if you join a Part D plan, tell your Medigap insurance company. It will remove the drug coverage from your policy and adjust your premium.
Saving Money with Medigap
All supplement plans offer this core coverage: Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, Part B coinsurance or copayments, the first 3 pints of blood for transfusions, and Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayments.
The most basic of all the supplement plans is Plan A, which offers only these core benefits. Plans that add more benefits generally cost more each month, but they also leave you with fewer bills when you use your coverage.
Deciding on a Supplement Plan
This is where your decision on a plan becomes important. A plan with more coverage usually has a higher monthly premium, but you will pay less out-of-pocket for the health care you receive.
Some plans, like Plan K, cover a percentage of benefits to lower your monthly costs. Plan K pays 100% of Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, and 50% of Part B coinsurance or copayments, the first 3 pints of blood for transfusions, Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayments, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, and the Part A deductible. It also has a yearly out-of-pocket limit, so your share of covered costs is capped.
Other plans, like Plan F, offer the fullest possible coverage at a higher monthly cost. Plan F covers Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, Part B coinsurance or copayments, the first 3 pints of blood for transfusions, Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayments, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, the Part A deductible, the Part B deductible, and Part B excess charges, and it pays 80% of foreign travel emergency care.
Keep in mind that Plan F is not available to everyone. Because of a change in federal law, people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 can’t buy Plan F or Plan C. Plan F is still available to people who were eligible for Medicare before that date. For most people new to Medicare, Plan G offers the same coverage as Plan F except for the Part B deductible.
Every plan has trade-offs between premium and out-of-pocket costs. Check out our Medicare Supplement Plan Comparison to review your full options and choose a supplement that works best for you.
Enrolling in a Supplement Plan
Once you have chosen a supplement plan, your next step is to enroll. The best time to do so is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period.
Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period lasts 6 months. It starts automatically the first month you have Medicare Part B and are 65 or older. During this window you can buy any Medigap policy sold in your state, even if you have health problems, and an insurance company can’t charge you more because of your health. This period can’t be changed or repeated.
After your open enrollment period ends, you may still be able to buy a Medigap policy, but in most states the insurance company can use medical underwriting. That means it can charge you more or turn you down because of past or present health problems, unless you qualify for a guaranteed issue right. Because of this, we typically advise enrolling as soon as you are able.
