Medicare Supplement

Medigap letters A through N explained for West Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — If you've ever looked at Original Medicare and wondered who picks up the leftover bills, you've bumped into the reason Medicare Supplement insurance exists. Also called Medigap, these are private policies sold in standardized "letter" plans — A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M and N — designed to help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind. Here in West Hartford, where many neighbors are weighing their choices during and outside the fall enrollment window, understanding what Medigap does (and doesn't) do can save a lot of second-guessing later.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medigap is private insurance that pairs with Original Medicare. After Medicare pays its share of a covered service, your Medigap plan can pick up some or all of what's left — things like coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles.

It's not the same as Medicare Advantage (Part C). Advantage plans replace the way you get your Part A and Part B benefits and often bundle in extras like drug coverage. Medigap does the opposite: it sits on top of Original Medicare and helps with cost-sharing. You can't have both a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time.

Medigap also doesn't cover long-term care, most dental, vision, hearing aids, or private-duty nursing.

How the standardized letters work

In most states, including Connecticut, Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means the benefits inside Plan G, for example, are the same no matter which insurance company sells it. What can differ is the monthly premium, the company's customer service, and how they price the policy over time.

The letter plans currently offered to new enrollees are A, B, D, G, K, L, M and N. Plans C and F are still available, but only to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. High-deductible versions of Plan G and Plan F also exist for people who want lower premiums in exchange for a higher yearly deductible.

Each letter offers a different mix of coverage for things like:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and an extra 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up
• Part B coinsurance or copayments
• The first three pints of blood
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• Part A and Part B deductibles (depending on the plan)
• Foreign travel emergency care (up to plan limits)

You can compare the letter grid side by side on medicare.gov.

Drugs, dental, and other gaps Medigap won't fill

One of the most common mistakes new enrollees make is assuming Medigap includes prescriptions. It doesn't — not for policies sold today. If you want drug coverage alongside Original Medicare and a Medigap plan, you'd enroll in a separate stand-alone Part D plan.

A few 2026 Part D facts worth knowing:

• The annual out-of-pocket cap for covered drugs is $2,100.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" is gone; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments if you choose.
• Higher-income enrollees may pay IRMAA surcharges, which begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Medigap also won't help with routine dental, vision, hearing, or long-term custodial care. Those need separate coverage or out-of-pocket planning.

Timing matters: your one-time open enrollment window

The single most important date in the Medigap world isn't in the fall calendar — it's personal to you. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a six-month window that begins the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurance companies can't turn you down or charge you more based on your health.

Miss that window, and in most cases carriers can use medical underwriting — reviewing your health history — to decide whether to sell you a policy and at what price. There are limited "guaranteed issue" rights outside the window (for example, if certain coverage ends through no fault of your own), but they're narrower than many people expect.

This is separate from the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31), which apply to Advantage and Part D — not Medigap.

What West Hartford residents can look at locally

West Hartford is in Hartford County, where Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability is set at the county level and updated each year by CMS. Medigap works differently — Connecticut regulates Medigap policies, and the same standardized letter plans are offered statewide by a range of carriers. The number of companies selling each letter plan can change, and premiums vary by insurer, so it's worth comparing more than one.

Connecticut has some consumer protections that go beyond federal rules for Medigap. To see what applies to you, check with the Connecticut Insurance Department or your local SHIP counselor before signing anything.