Medicare Supplement

How Medigap plan letters work for Waterbury residents

WATERBURY, Conn. — If you're new to Medicare or helping a parent sort through the mail piling up on the kitchen table, one word tends to cause the most confusion: Medigap.

Medigap, explained for Waterbury readers

Medicare Supplement Insurance — the formal name for Medigap — is private insurance that works alongside Original Medicare. It helps pay for some of the costs Original Medicare doesn't, like coinsurance, copays, and deductibles. It is not the same thing as Medicare Advantage, and it does not include prescription drug coverage.

Here's a plain-language look at how Medigap works, what those letter names mean, and where Waterbury residents can go for local help.

What Medigap does — and what it doesn't

Medigap is designed to fill the "gaps" in Original Medicare (Part A hospital and Part B medical). After Medicare pays its share of a covered service, your Medigap policy picks up some or all of what's left, depending on the plan.

A few things Medigap does not do:

• It does not cover prescription drugs. For that, most people add a separate Part D plan.
• It does not work with Medicare Advantage. You use Medigap only if you have Original Medicare.
• It does not typically cover long-term care, dental, vision, or hearing aids.

You pay a monthly premium for a Medigap policy on top of your Part B premium.

Those standardized letters: A, B, D, G, K, L, M, N

Medigap policies are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G from one company covers the same core benefits as a Plan G from another company — the price and customer service can differ, but the benefits are set.

In most states, including Connecticut, Medigap plans are sold using letter names: A, B, D, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are still available, but only to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.)

Each letter represents a different mix of benefits, such as:

• Part A hospital coinsurance
• Part B coinsurance or copayment
• The first three pints of blood
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• Part A deductible
• Foreign travel emergency care (up to plan limits)

Plans K and L have out-of-pocket limits and cover a smaller share of certain costs. Plan N uses small copays for some office and ER visits. You can compare the full standardized benefits side-by-side on medicare.gov.

When you can buy a Medigap policy

Timing matters more with Medigap than many people realize.

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, you have a guaranteed right to buy any Medigap policy sold in your state, regardless of your health history.

Outside that window, in most cases, insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can ask health questions and potentially charge you more or turn you down. Connecticut has some additional state protections, but the rules can be detailed, so it's worth confirming your situation before you switch.

A local snapshot: Waterbury and New Haven County

Waterbury is in New Haven County, where residents shop for Medicare coverage under the same federal Medigap rules that apply statewide. Medigap policies in Connecticut are regulated by the state Insurance Department, and the same standardized letter plans available elsewhere in Connecticut are available here.

Because Medigap benefits are standardized, the meaningful differences between policies usually come down to:

• The insurance company's pricing method and rate history
• Customer service and billing
• Any extra perks the carrier includes (like gym memberships)

Medicare Advantage plans, by contrast, are set at the county level — so plan availability for Advantage and Part D in Waterbury is tied to New Haven County. Medigap is not sold that way.

How Medigap fits with Part D and 2026 rules

If you choose Original Medicare plus Medigap, you'll likely also want a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan. A few 2026 figures worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026. Once you hit it, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D — begins above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates to circle: Medicare Annual Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, and Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs January 1 through March 31. Medigap has its own rules and isn't tied to these windows the same way.