Medicare Supplement

Which Medigap letters can Cape Coral residents still buy?

If you live in Cape Coral and you're pairing Original Medicare with a Medicare Supplement policy — often called Medigap — the menu you can shop from is set by federal law. Every Medigap policy sold here comes in a standardized letter: A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M or N for people newly eligible for Medicare today. Plans C and F are still around, but only for people who became eligible before January 1, 2020.

Medicare SupplementCape Coral, FL

Cape Coral, Fla. — Medigap is federal, but the fine print is local

That standardization is the good news. It means Plan G from one insurer covers the same medical benefits as Plan G from another. What changes from company to company is price, customer service, and the underwriting questions you may be asked if you're switching outside a protected window.

How Medigap fits with Original Medicare and Part D

Medigap is secondary coverage. You keep Original Medicare as your primary insurance, and the Medigap policy picks up some or all of the out-of-pocket costs Medicare leaves behind — things like the Part A hospital deductible, coinsurance, and (with certain letters) the Part B deductible.

A few ground rules worth remembering:

• Medigap does not work with a Medicare Advantage plan. You choose one path or the other.
• Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage. If you want drug coverage, you enroll in a stand-alone Part D plan.
• For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap and a maximum deductible of $615. The old coverage gap ("donut hole") has been gone since 2025, replaced with a simpler three-phase design. There's also the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the year instead of paying big bills at the pharmacy counter.

What each Medigap letter actually does

Every letter is a package of benefits defined by Medicare. Here's a plain-language snapshot:

• Plan A — the basic bundle: Part A coinsurance, Part B coinsurance, first three pints of blood, hospice coinsurance.
• Plan B — everything in A, plus the Part A deductible.
• Plan D — broader than A and B, including skilled nursing coinsurance and some foreign travel emergency coverage.
• Plan G — the most comprehensive plan available to newly eligible enrollees; covers nearly everything Original Medicare doesn't, except the Part B deductible.
• Plan G-HD — same coverage as Plan G, but you pay a high deductible before benefits kick in.
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans that pay a percentage (K pays 50%, L pays 75%) until you hit an annual out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan M — pays half the Part A deductible and skips the Part B deductible.
• Plan N — like G, but with small copays for some office and emergency room visits, and no coverage of Part B excess charges.
• Plans C and F — closed to people who became Medicare-eligible on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them.

Who sells Medigap in Florida

Cape Coral is in Lee County, and residents here shop the same statewide Medigap market as the rest of Florida. The table below lists every insurer approved to sell Medigap in the state and the letters each one offers. You'll see well-known names such as AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, AFLAC, Florida Blue, Humana, Mutual of Omaha and State Farm, alongside smaller specialty carriers.

Two things to notice as you scan the list:

1. Not every carrier sells every letter. If you've decided you want Plan D, for example, your shortlist is shorter than if you want Plan G. 2. Because benefits within a letter are identical by law, comparing insurers usually comes down to price and how they handle rate increases over time.

The Florida rules that shape your choice

Federal law gives you a six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers must sell you any Medigap policy they offer, cannot use your health history against you, and cannot charge you more because of a condition.

Outside that window, things can get tighter. Florida does not have a birthday rule the way California or Oregon do. In most cases, if you want to switch Medigap plans later, the insurer can ask health questions and decide whether to accept you. There are exceptions — certain "guaranteed issue" rights kick in if, for example, your current plan goes out of business or you move out of a plan's service area.

Because these state-specific rights change and are worth getting right, don't guess. Two free resources can walk you through your situation:

• SHINE, Florida's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), offers free one-on-one counseling.
• The Florida Department of Financial Services publishes consumer rate guides and takes complaints.

How to think about pricing (without us quoting a price)

Two Medigap policies with the same letter cover the same things, but they can be priced very differently. Ask any insurer or agent how their premium is calculated:

• Community-rated — everyone pays roughly the same, regardless of age.
• Issue-age-rated — your premium is based on your age when you first bought the policy.
• Attained-age-rated — your premium goes up as you get older.

Knowing the pricing method matters because a low starting premium can rise faster than you expect. Ask, too, about the carrier's history of rate increases in Florida.