What Are the Different Medigap Plans?

Medicare Supplement or Medigap Insurance is private insurance that helps fill the “gaps” in Original Medicare. Named after the letters A-N, Medigap plans help pay for out-of-pocket costs like copays, coinsurance and more.

While Medigap plans are sold by insurance companies, their benefits are standardized by the government.
Below, we’ll guide you through the different Medigap plans and their standard benefits, as well as how to find the best Medigap plan for you.

How Medigap’s Standard Benefits Work	Jump to
Medigap Plans Available to New Enrollees	Jump to
Medigap Plans C and F	Jump to
What’s the best Medigap Plan?	Jump to

How Medigap’s Standard Benefits Work

As mentioned above, Medigap plans are sold by private insurance companies. However, those insurance companies are regulated by State and Federal government. 

Insurance companies do have control over the premiums they charge you for their plans. This means, that if you’re shopping for a Medigap Plan G, for example, you might have several insurance companies in your area offering the same exact Plan G all at different prices. This makes shopping for plans easy, because regardless of which insurance company you buy your policy from, you can feel confident you’ll get the exact coverage you expect.
So, once you know which plan is right for you, the only thing you really must worry about when shopping, is the price of the plan.  

But, before you start shopping for plans from different insurance companies, it’s important to understand what each plan must offer.

Medigap in MA, MN and WI
In Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Medigap policies are standardized in a different way.
Visit medicare.gov to learn more about plans in those areas.

Medigap Plans Available to New Enrollees

There are 10 standard Medigap plans. Twelve if you count the two high-deductible versions. Each of these plans offer between 4 and 9 standard benefits. Although, three of those plans (Plan C, Plan F and High-Deductible Plan F) are no longer available to new enrollees. We discuss that more in the next section. Here, let’s focus on the 8 plans that new Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for.

Plan A: Starting with the basics
Starting with the most basic of the plans, Medigap Plan A offers coverage for:

• Medicare Part A coinsurance & hospital costs 
• Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayments 
• First 3 pints of a blood transfusion 
• Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayments 

Each of the remaining Medigap Plans will cover at least these basic benefits, plus more.

Plans B, D, N and G: Building on the basics
The next few plans offer more comprehensive benefits. For example, Medigap Plan B includes the same benefits as Medigap Plan A plus it covers your Medicare Part A deductible. And, Plan D and Plan N include the same benefits as Plan B plus skilled nursing care and foreign travel care with Plan N charging some copays.

That brings us to Medigap Plan G which is the most comprehensive (and most popular) of the plans available to new enrollees. It includes the basic Plan A benefits, plus:

• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance 
• Part A deductible 
• Part B excess charge 
• Foreign travel care 

Plan G is the most popular plan amongst new enrollees because it covers almost all your out-of-pocket costs.
The only thing you must pay for, other than your monthly premium, is your Medicare Part B deductible which is $233 in 2022.ⁱ 

There’s also a high-deductible option for Plan G which provides lower premiums, but you’ll have to spend more in out-of-pocket costs before your benefits kick in. The deductible for Medigap Plan G in 2022 is $2,490.ⁱⁱ 

Plans K and L: Cost-sharing with OoP max’s
Aside from foreign travel which is capped at 80% coverage as of 2022, each of the standard benefits are covered 100% in Medigap Plans A through G. Plan K and Plan L work a little differently. These two plans take advantage of cost-sharing to help keep premiums lower. To control your out-of-pocket costs, they also come with out-of-pocket (OoP) maximums. So, even though you may have to pay more at first, after you meet the OoP max, your Medigap plan pays for 100% of covered services for the rest of the year. 

Plan M: The newest plan
Medigap Plan M was introduced in 2010. It covers similar benefits as Plans K and L; however, it uses a cost-sharing model only for the Part A deductible. Which means, you’ll be responsible for paying 50% of your hospital deductible.

Medigap Plans C and F
You may have noticed we skipped over Plan F and Plan C. That’s because they’re no longer available to anyone joining Medicare after January 1, 2020. Congress voted to remove Plan F and C (including high-deductible Plan F) because these plans covered the Part B deductible. The decision was made in an effort to reduce medical overuse.  

If you turned 65 before 2020, then you are grandfathered in and are able to keep your Plan F or Plan C as well as enroll into a Plan F or Plan C for the first time.

What’s the Best Medigap Plan?

The best Medigap plan is going to depend on your health status, budgetary restrictions and lifestyle. It’s going to depend on how often you visit the doctor, whether you travel abroad, if you can afford to pay more up front for your healthcare in turn for less out-of-pocket costs and more. It’s also going to depend on where you live.
For example, some states don’t allow Medicare Part B excess charges, so you wouldn’t need your plan to cover this.  

There are a few plans that are more popular than others, including a couple that are gaining in popularity since Plans C and F were discontinued for new enrollees. You can learn more about the top Medigap plans here.  

If you need help determining which plan is best for you, Ensurem has licensed agents ready to answer your questions. They can also help you compare Medigap plans available in your area from some of the nation’s
top-rated carriers.¹ 

References:
¹ Ensurem only offers products from insurance carriers with an A.M. Best Rating of B++ or higher and/or,
where applicable, a CMS Star Rating of 4/5 or higher.