Medicare Supplement

Medigap letters explained for Fountain, Colorado residents

FOUNTAIN, Colo. — If you've been shopping for a way to cover what Original Medicare leaves behind, you've probably run into a wall of letters: Plan A, Plan G, Plan N, and more. That's Medicare Supplement Insurance — often called Medigap — and once you understand how the letters work, the whole system gets a lot less confusing.

Here's a plain-English walk-through for readers here in Fountain and across El Paso County.

What Medigap actually does

Medigap is private insurance you can buy to help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) doesn't cover. Think of things like coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles for hospital and doctor visits.

A Medigap policy works alongside Original Medicare. Medicare pays its share of an approved medical bill first, and then your Medigap plan pays its share of what's left. You pay a monthly premium to the private insurance company for that extra coverage, on top of your Part B premium.

Important: Medigap is not the same as Medicare Advantage (Part C). You can't have both at the same time. Medigap only works with Original Medicare.

Why the plans are labeled with letters

Here's the part that trips people up. In most states, including Colorado, Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means Plan G sold by one company covers the exact same core benefits as Plan G sold by another company. The letter tells you what's inside the box.

According to Medicare.gov, there are up to 10 standardized Medigap plans available to new enrollees, identified by letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.)

Because benefits are standardized, the main differences between two companies selling the "same" Medigap plan come down to:

• Price (monthly premium)
• Customer service and reputation
• Optional extras a company might bundle in

So if you're comparing Plan G from Company 1 to Plan G from Company 2, the medical benefits are identical. You're really shopping on price and service.

What Medigap does not cover

This is where a lot of Fountain-area readers get surprised. Medigap generally does not cover:

• Prescription drugs (you'd need a separate Part D plan)
• Routine dental, vision, or hearing care
• Long-term care (like a nursing home stay beyond what Medicare covers)
• Private-duty nursing
• Eyeglasses or hearing aids

If you want help with prescription drugs, you'd pair your Medigap policy with a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan. And a quick reminder on the drug side: in 2026, Part D has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap and a maximum deductible of $615, per CMS. The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025.

When you can buy Medigap — and why timing matters

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're both 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.

During that window, you have what's called a guaranteed issue right. Insurance companies can't turn you down or charge you more because of pre-existing health conditions. Miss it, and in most cases insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can ask health questions and potentially deny coverage or charge more.

This is one of the most important deadlines in all of Medicare, and it's easy to overlook because it's not the same as the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) that you hear about on TV.

The local picture in Fountain

Fountain is in El Paso County, where residents shopping for Medicare coverage generally have access to multiple Medigap carriers licensed to sell in Colorado, along with a range of Medicare Advantage and Part D options. Plan availability and pricing are set at the state and county level, not city by city — so a neighbor in Security-Widefield or Colorado Springs sees essentially the same Medigap choices you do.

Colorado does have some additional consumer protections around Medigap beyond the federal minimums. For specifics on what applies to your situation, the Colorado Division of Insurance and the state's SHIP counselors (see below) are good starting points.