Medicare Supplement

Which Medigap Letters Can You Buy in Stockton Today?

Stockton, Calif. — If you have Original Medicare and you're weighing a Medicare Supplement policy, the letters can feel like alphabet soup. In California, the good news is that most of the sorting has already been done for you. Medigap policies are standardized by the federal government, which means a Plan G sold by one company covers the same core benefits as a Plan G sold by another. What changes from company to company is the price and the service — not the benefits inside each letter.

Stockton is in San Joaquin County, and shoppers here have the same set of standardized Medigap letters available as anywhere else in California. Below is a plain-English walk-through of which letters you can buy today, how Medigap fits with the rest of Medicare, and where to look for the specific insurers and prices in your ZIP code.

What "standardized" means in California

Medigap policies in California follow the federal standardized model. Each plan letter — A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N — spells out a specific set of benefits, and every insurer that sells that letter has to include those same benefits. (Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin standardize their Medigap policies differently; California does not.)

That means if you're comparing Plan G from one company to Plan G from another in Stockton, the coverage inside the policy is the same. The differences are in the monthly premium, how the insurer raises rates over time, and the extras a company may add on top (like fitness perks). No letter is "better" at one insurer than another.

Which letters you can buy today

If you became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, you can shop these letters:

• Plan A and Plan B — the more basic options.
• Plan D and Plan G — broader coverage; Plan G is one of the most widely purchased.
• Plan G-HD — a high-deductible version of Plan G with a lower premium and a yearly deductible you pay first.
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans with an annual out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan M and Plan N — middle-ground options; Plan N has small copays for some office and ER visits.

Plans C and F are closed to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, because both plans covered the Part B deductible, which federal law no longer allows for new enrollees. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy or keep C or F.

How Medigap pairs with Original Medicare and Part D

Medigap is designed to fill in the gaps in Original Medicare — things like the Part A hospital deductible, coinsurance and some copays. To use a Medigap policy, you have to be enrolled in Part A and Part B and stay in Original Medicare. You cannot use a Medigap policy with a Medicare Advantage plan.

Medigap does not cover prescription drugs. If you want drug coverage, you add a stand-alone Part D plan. For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap, a maximum deductible of $615, and the old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone — replaced by three simpler phases. There's also an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you spread your drug costs over the year in monthly installments instead of paying them all at the pharmacy counter.

Higher-income enrollees may also pay an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D; for 2026, IRMAA starts above $109,000 for a single filer.

The California rules that shape your choice

A few state-specific points are worth knowing before you shop:

• Your Medigap open enrollment window — a one-time, six-month period that starts when you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B — is when you have the strongest right to buy any Medigap policy sold in your area without medical underwriting.
• California has additional protections beyond federal law, including rules around when you can switch policies. Because these rules can change and depend on your situation, confirm the details with the California Department of Insurance or your local SHIP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, or HICAP) before you make a switch.
• Pricing method matters. In California, Medigap policies can be priced in different ways (for example, by age at issue or by attained age), and that affects how your premium changes over time. Two policies with the same letter can look similar today and diverge in a few years.

How to find insurers and prices in Stockton

There isn't a single public list of every Medigap insurer selling in San Joaquin County that we can print here, so the most reliable way to compare is to go straight to the sources:

• Medicare.gov Medigap policy search — enter your Stockton ZIP code to see which companies sell which letters in your area.
• California Department of Insurance Medigap rate guide — a state-published comparison of Medigap premiums by company.
• HICAP / SHIP — free, unbiased counseling from trained volunteers who can walk you through the letters and the fine print. Call 1-800-MEDICARE for a referral, or search "California HICAP."

When you compare, put the same letter side-by-side (Plan G to Plan G, Plan N to Plan N) and look at both the current premium and how the company adjusts rates as you age.