Medicare Supplement

Which Medigap Letters Can Tucson Buyers Pick in 2026?

Shopping for a Medicare Supplement policy in Tucson can feel like reading an eye chart — Plan A, Plan B, Plan D, Plan G, Plan N, and more. The good news: those letters are federally standardized. What a Plan G covers in Tucson is the same as what a Plan G covers anywhere else in Arizona. What changes from one insurer to the next is the price and the service, not the benefits inside the letter.

Medicare SupplementTucson, AZ

Tucson is in Pima County, and Medigap policies here follow the same federal rulebook used across Arizona. Here is how the letters work, how they fit with Original Medicare and a Part D drug plan, and what to check before you sign anything.

What Medigap is (and what it is not)

Medigap is private insurance that helps pay some of the costs Original Medicare leaves behind — things like the Part A hospital deductible, coinsurance, and copays. It rides alongside Parts A and B. When you go to the doctor or hospital, Medicare pays its share first, and your Medigap policy picks up its share of what is left, based on the letter you chose.

A few things Medigap is not:

• It is not Medicare Advantage. You cannot have both at the same time.
• It does not include prescription drug coverage. If you want drug coverage, you add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• It does not usually cover dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term care.

The letters you can buy in Arizona today

Federal law sets what each letter covers. In Arizona, people who are newly eligible for Medicare can pick from these standardized plans:

• Plan A — the most basic set of benefits
• Plan B
• Plan D
• Plan G — a popular pick because it covers most gaps except the Part B deductible
• Plan G High-Deductible (G-HD) — same benefits as Plan G, but you pay a yearly deductible first
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans with lower premiums and an annual out-of-pocket limit
• Plan M
• Plan N — covers most gaps, with small office and ER copays

Plans C and F are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them.

Every letter covers the same core items no matter which insurer sells it. A Plan G is a Plan G. What differs between companies is the monthly premium, how they raise rates over time, and customer service.

How Medigap pairs with Part D

Because Medigap does not include drug coverage, most Tucson residents on Original Medicare add a stand-alone Part D plan. A few 2026 numbers worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for 2026. Once you hit it, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible can be up to $615.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone — as of 2025, Part D has three simpler phases.
• If paying a big drug bill in one month is hard, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread costs across the year at no extra charge.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

When you can buy or switch, and the pricing question to ask

Your strongest federal right to buy any Medigap plan sold in Arizona — with no health questions asked — is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period: the six months that begin the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. There are also certain "guaranteed issue" situations, such as losing other coverage.

Outside those windows, an insurer in Arizona can generally use medical underwriting, which means your health history can affect whether you are accepted and what you pay. Arizona does not have some of the extra state protections a few other states offer (like "birthday rules"), so for questions about your specific rights, check with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions or the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

One question worth asking every insurer: how do you price this policy? Medigap premiums in Arizona can be set three ways — community-rated, issue-age-rated, or attained-age-rated. Two policies with the same letter and the same premium today can look very different five or ten years from now, depending on the method.

How to compare insurers in Tucson

Because the benefits inside each letter are set by federal law, comparing insurers really comes down to price and service. A few free tools:

• The Medicare.gov Medigap policy search lets you enter your Tucson ZIP code and see every company licensed to sell each plan letter in your area.
• The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions publishes a Medigap rate guide that lists carriers and sample premiums.
• Arizona SHIP offers free, unbiased one-on-one counseling for Medicare questions.

The table below lists more details for reference. When you get quotes, compare the same letter across companies, and ask about the pricing method and the insurer's history of rate increases.