Medicare Supplement
What is Medicare Supplement insurance?
Medigap is private insurance that helps pay some of the health care costs Original Medicare does not pay, such as coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles.
How a Medigap policy works
You receive care
You visit any provider in the United States that accepts Medicare assignment.
Medicare pays first
Original Medicare processes the claim and pays its approved share.
Your Medigap plan pays
The supplement pays the eligible remaining costs its plan letter covers.
You pay what's left
Typically your deductible, any plan copays, and services Medicare does not cover.
Standardization, premiums, and underwriting
Three ideas that explain most of what people find confusing about Medigap.
Standardized benefits
In most states, each plan letter has a benefit set defined by federal standards. Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize differently.
Premiums vary
Carriers set their own rates and rating method — attained age, issue age, or community rated — so identical benefits can carry very different premiums and rate histories.
Underwriting
During your Medigap open enrollment period, or in a guaranteed issue situation, health questions generally do not apply. Outside those windows, carriers may use medical underwriting to decide on an application.
Plan letters we educate on
Plan G
Plan G is a standardized Medicare Supplement plan that helps pay most of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind after you satisfy the annual Part B deductible.
Read more →Plan N
Plan N covers many of the same standardized benefits as Plan G, but you may pay small copayments for some office and emergency department visits, and Part B excess charges are not covered.
Read more →Plan F
Plan F historically covered the Part B deductible in addition to the benefits found in Plan G. Federal law closed Plan F to people who became newly eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.
Read more →