Medicare Part D

Medigap in Bear, DE: What Supplement Covers 2027

BEAR, Del. — If you're one of the thousands of Medicare-eligible residents here in northern New Castle County, you've probably heard the term "Medigap" tossed around at the pharmacy counter or by a friend at coffee. It sounds technical, but the idea is simple: Medigap plans are private policies designed to help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind.

Here's a plain-language look at what Medicare Supplement insurance does, how the lettered plans work, and where Bear residents can go for personal help.

What Medigap actually does

Original Medicare — Part A (hospital) and Part B (doctor and outpatient) — pays for a lot, but not everything. You're still responsible for deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments, and there is no yearly cap on what you could owe out of pocket.

A Medicare Supplement policy, sold by private insurers, helps fill those gaps. Depending on the plan you choose, it may cover things like the Part A hospital coinsurance, the Part B coinsurance, hospice cost-sharing, and the first three pints of blood.

What Medigap does not do:

• It doesn't include prescription drug coverage. For that, you'd add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• It doesn't cover dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term custodial care.
• It doesn't work with Medicare Advantage. You either have Original Medicare (which can be paired with Medigap) or a Medicare Advantage plan — not both.

How the standardized letters work

This is the part that trips people up. Across most of the country, Medigap plans are standardized by letter — Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Every insurer that sells a "Plan G," for example, must offer the same core benefits as any other "Plan G." The difference between carriers is usually price, customer service, and whether they offer small extras.

A few important notes from Medicare.gov:

• Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.
• Plans K and L have lower premiums but come with cost-sharing and an out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan N has copays for some office and ER visits.
• Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their plans differently. Delaware uses the standard federal lettering.

Bear is in New Castle County — here's what that means for availability

Medigap availability and pricing are regulated at the state level in Delaware, and specific plan offerings are set by each private insurer. Bear sits in New Castle County, where residents choose from the same menu of standardized letter plans offered elsewhere in the state. For an up-to-date list of Medigap policies sold in Delaware, Medicare.gov's plan finder lets you enter your ZIP code and see current offerings side by side.

If you also want prescription drug coverage — which Medigap doesn't include — you'd shop separately for a Part D plan in New Castle County.

The best time to buy: your Medigap Open Enrollment

This one is worth circling on the calendar. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers cannot deny you a policy or charge you more because of your health.

Miss it, and in most states — Delaware included — insurers can use medical underwriting. That means a health condition could raise your rate or lead to a denial. It's not impossible to buy Medigap later, but it's usually easier and more predictable during that initial window.

How Medigap fits with the rest of Medicare in 2027

A quick refresher on the pieces around Medigap so you can see the full picture:

• Part D drug costs: In 2026, the annual out-of-pocket cap on covered prescriptions is $2,100, and the maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional feature that lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments.
• IRMAA: higher-income beneficiaries pay surcharges on Part B and Part D. For 2026, those surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.
• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7 for Part D and Medicare Advantage changes.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31, for people already in an MA plan.

Note that Medigap enrollment is not tied to the fall Annual Enrollment Period — that's a common mix-up.