Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Montgomery: how the letter plans work

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — If you've ever looked at Original Medicare and wondered who pays the leftover bills, you've bumped into the reason Medicare Supplement insurance exists. These policies — better known as Medigap — help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Parts A and B don't cover. But Medigap comes in a lineup of standardized letter plans that can be confusing at first glance. Here's a plain-English guide to what Medigap does, what it doesn't, and how to read those letters without a headache.

What Medigap actually does

Medigap is private insurance you can buy to sit alongside Original Medicare (Parts A and B). It doesn't replace Medicare — it fills in some of the gaps Medicare leaves behind, like coinsurance, copayments, and in some cases the Part A hospital deductible.

A few important ground rules from Medicare.gov:

• You must already be enrolled in Part A and Part B to buy a Medigap policy.
• Medigap only works with Original Medicare. If you're on a Medicare Advantage plan, you generally can't use a Medigap policy at the same time.
• Medigap covers one person per policy. Spouses each need their own.
• Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage. For drugs, you'd add a separate Part D plan.

Medigap also doesn't pay for things Original Medicare itself doesn't cover, like most dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term custodial care.

Why the letters matter

Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G sold by one insurance company covers the same core benefits as a Plan G sold by another. The price and customer service can differ — the benefits within a letter cannot.

The letter plans currently available to new enrollees are A, B, D, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are no longer sold to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after Jan. 1, 2020, because they covered the Part B deductible, which newer plans can't.)

Each letter offers a different mix of coverage for things like:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and extra days after Medicare runs out
• Part B coinsurance or copays
• The first three pints of blood
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• Part A deductible
• Foreign travel emergency care (up to plan limits)

Plans K and L have lower premiums but ask you to share more costs up to a yearly out-of-pocket limit. Plan N generally has lower premiums in exchange for small copays at some doctor visits and ER trips.

The best time to buy — and why timing matters

The single most important date in Medigap is the start of your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. It begins the month you're 65 and enrolled in Part B, and it lasts six months.

During this window, you have what's called a guaranteed issue right. Insurers must sell you any Medigap plan they offer, can't charge you more because of health problems, and can't turn you down.

After that six-month window closes, insurers in most states — including Alabama — can use medical underwriting. That means they can ask health questions and either charge more or deny coverage. This is the mistake we see most often: people skip Medigap at 65, try to add it later, and find out the door is narrower than they expected.

Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage — a quick reality check

Medigap and Medicare Advantage (Part C) are two different roads, not two flavors of the same thing.

• Medigap works with Original Medicare, lets you see any provider that accepts Medicare, and helps pay your share of the costs. You typically also carry a stand-alone Part D drug plan.
• Medicare Advantage replaces the way you get your Part A and B benefits, often bundles drug coverage, and usually uses a network of doctors and hospitals.

You can't use both at once. Switching between them later is possible but not always simple, which is why understanding the choice up front matters.

Montgomery is in Montgomery County, where beneficiaries have a range of Medicare Advantage and Part D options available at the county level. But Medigap availability is regulated by the state, and any Medigap insurer licensed in Alabama can sell to Montgomery residents.

2026 Medicare figures worth knowing

Even if you're focused on Medigap, these program-wide numbers for 2026 are useful context:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100. Once you hit that in covered drug costs, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying big bills at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge for Part B and Part D — starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.
• Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: Jan. 1 – March 31. (Note: these windows are for Advantage and Part D, not Medigap.)

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting past your six-month Medigap window. Health underwriting can lock you out later.
• Assuming all Plan Gs are the same price. Benefits are standardized; premiums are not. It pays to compare.
• Forgetting about Part D. Medigap doesn't cover prescriptions. You'll want a separate drug plan.
• Mixing up Advantage and Medigap. You can only use one approach at a time.