Medicare Supplement

What's changing for Medigap in San Jose for 2027: plan letters, deductible reset and rate filings

San Jose, Calif. — If you have a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy in San Jose, or you're thinking about buying one, the run-up to 2027 is a good time to check three things: which plan letters you can still buy, how the yearly reset of the Part B deductible affects the popular Plans G and N, and whether your insurer has filed a rate change with the state.

Medicare SupplementSan Jose, CA

None of these are new rules for 2027, but they all move on a yearly schedule — and California's Medigap market has its own twist, called the birthday rule, that gives you a once-a-year window to switch. Here's what to watch.

What plan letters you can still buy in 2027

Medigap plans are standardized by letter across most of the country, and California follows the federal letter system. If you're newly eligible for Medicare, the letters available to you are A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N.

Plans C and F are only available to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. That rule doesn't change in 2027. If you already have a Plan C or F, you can keep it — but if you're aging into Medicare now, those two aren't on the menu.

Every letter offers the same core benefits no matter which company sells it. A Plan G from one insurer covers the same Medicare-approved costs as a Plan G from another. What differs is the price, the customer service, and sometimes extras like fitness perks.

The yearly Part B deductible reset — why Plans G and N feel it

Plans G and N are the two most-purchased letters for people new to Medicare, and both are built the same way at the front end: you pay the Part B deductible, and the plan picks up from there (Plan N also has small copays for some office and ER visits).

Every year, the federal government resets the Part B deductible for the new calendar year. When that number moves, the amount you pay before your Medigap kicks in moves with it. Your Medigap premium doesn't change because of the deductible reset — but your out-of-pocket path at the start of each year does.

The high-deductible version of Plan G (G-HD) works differently: you pay a much larger deductible before the plan pays, in exchange for a lower monthly premium. That deductible also resets each year, and CMS publishes the new figure ahead of January.

For the exact 2027 Part B deductible, check medicare.gov once CMS releases it, typically in the fall.

Rate-adjustment season: how to check before you renew

Medigap premiums in California are filed with and reviewed by the California Department of Insurance (CDI). Medicare does not set them. Insurers can request rate changes during the year, and those filings are public.

Before you renew a policy or shop a new one, you can:

• Ask your current insurer, in writing, what your renewal premium will be.
• Use the CDI Medigap rate guide, which lists premiums by company and ZIP code.
• Run the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search with your San Jose ZIP code to see every company licensed to sell each letter in your area.

Because rates vary a lot between carriers for the same standardized plan, this is worth doing every year — not just when you first enroll.

The California birthday rule — your once-a-year switch window

California is one of a small number of states with a birthday rule for Medigap. In plain terms: for a window each year tied to your birthday, you can switch to another Medigap plan of equal or lesser benefits with the same or a different insurer, and the new company can't turn you down or charge you more for health reasons.

This matters because outside guaranteed-issue windows like this one, insurers in California can normally use medical underwriting to decide whether to sell you a policy and at what price. The birthday rule is your yearly reset button — worth marking on the calendar alongside your rate-review.

Details and current window length are on the California Department of Insurance website.

Are insurers entering or leaving California?

We aren't publishing a carrier-by-carrier list for San Jose in this article, because the roster changes throughout the year as companies file with the state. The most reliable, up-to-date sources are:

• Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search, which shows every company licensed to sell each plan letter at your ZIP code.
• The CDI Medigap rate guide, which lists insurers and premiums side by side.
• HICAP, California's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which offers free, unbiased counseling and can walk you through the current San Jose market.

San Jose sits in Santa Clara County, and the Medigap companies available to you are set at the state level, not the county level — so any Medigap insurer licensed in California and selling in your ZIP code is available to San Jose residents.

How to decide what to do this fall

A simple order of operations for the weeks ahead:

1. Confirm your plan letter. If you have C or F, you can keep it; if you're new to Medicare, focus on A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M or N. 2. Get your renewal premium in writing from your current insurer. 3. Compare the same letter across other carriers using Medicare.gov and the CDI guide — the benefits are identical by law. 4. Note your birthday window. If you want to move to an equal-or-lesser plan, that's your protected time. 5. Call HICAP if anything is unclear. It's free.

Keep in mind that Medigap is separate from Part D drug coverage and from Medicare Advantage. If you also want to review your Part D plan, the Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7.