Medicare Supplement

Why January feels pricier for Montgomery Plan G and N holders

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — If you have a Medigap policy in the River Region, or you are thinking about buying one, a handful of things shift with the calendar. The plan letters you can pick from depend on when you first became eligible for Medicare. The Part B deductible — the number Plans G and N are built around — resets every January. And Alabama insurers file new Medigap rates with the state each year, which is why your premium notice may look different from a friend's across town.

Medicare SupplementMontgomery, AL

Here is a plain-language look at what is changing for the coming year in Montgomery, and where to check the numbers that matter to your household.

Which plan letters you can actually buy

Medigap plans are standardized by letter across the country, but not every letter is open to every shopper. People who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 cannot buy Plans C or F, because those plans covered the Part B deductible and federal law closed them to newly eligible enrollees. If you were eligible before that date, you can still buy C or F if a carrier sells them.

For someone aging into Medicare in Montgomery today, the choices are Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD (high-deductible G), K, L, M and N. Plan G and Plan N are the two most commonly discussed for new enrollees, with high-deductible G offered as a lower-premium, higher-out-of-pocket alternative.

The Part B deductible reset — why January feels different

Plans G and N are designed around the Part B deductible. Neither plan pays your share of doctor and outpatient costs until you have met that deductible for the year. Every January 1, that counter goes back to zero.

That is not a change in your plan — it is how Medicare itself works. But it does mean the first outpatient visits of a new year can feel more expensive than the ones in November or December, even though nothing about your Medigap policy actually changed. If you are on high-deductible Plan G, the same reset applies to the plan's own separate deductible.

Medicare sets the exact Part B deductible amount for the year; you can confirm the current figure at medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

Rate-adjustment season in Alabama

Medigap premiums are not set by Medicare. Each insurer files proposed rates with the Alabama Department of Insurance, and those filings drive the renewal notices you receive. Rates can be based on your age when you bought the policy (issue-age), your current age (attained-age), or set the same for everyone in the plan (community-rated) — Alabama allows different approaches, and the method affects how your premium changes over time.

A few practical steps for Montgomery residents heading into renewal season:

• Read your renewal letter carefully and note the effective date of any change.
• Call your carrier and ask what rating method your policy uses.
• If you want to shop, remember that outside your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment Period (the six months starting when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B), insurers in Alabama can generally use medical underwriting to decide whether to accept you.

Insurers in the Alabama market

Montgomery is in Montgomery County, and Medigap availability is set at the state level in Alabama. The table below lists every insurer currently selling Medigap policies in the state and which standardized plan letters each one offers. Well-known names on that list include AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, AFLAC, BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama, Humana (Emphesys Insurance Company), Mutual of Omaha (Omaha Insurance Company), State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and USAA Life Insurance Company, among others.

Insurers do enter and leave state markets from time to time. If you want to confirm whether a specific carrier is still selling a specific plan in Alabama, the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search tool and the Alabama Department of Insurance are the two official sources.

What is not changing in 2026

A few things that come up in questions often — and are worth spelling out:

• The letters themselves. Plan G in Alabama covers the same standardized benefits as Plan G anywhere else; the same is true of every other letter.
• Guaranteed renewability. As long as you pay your premium, your Medigap policy renews.
• Your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment Period. That six-month window, tied to your Part B start date at 65, is still the strongest protection Alabama shoppers have against being turned down for health reasons.

Separately, at the Part D drug-coverage level, 2026 brings a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap, a $615 maximum deductible, and the continued option to smooth drug costs monthly through the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. Those figures affect your drug plan, not your Medigap plan, but they are worth knowing when you review your whole picture during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7).