Medicare Supplement

Which Medigap letters can a new Tampa enrollee buy?

Tampa shoppers looking at a Medicare Supplement policy — often called Medigap — quickly run into a wall of letters: A, B, D, G, K, L, M, N, plus a high-deductible version of G. The good news is those letters mean the same thing at every insurer that sells them. The trickier part is figuring out which letter fits, how it works with Original Medicare and a Part D drug plan, and what Florida's rules add on top.

Here is a plain-English walk-through for people in Hillsborough County.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Original Medicare (Part A hospital and Part B medical) pays a large share of your covered care, but it leaves gaps: deductibles, the 20% coinsurance on Part B services, and hospital costs after certain day limits. A Medigap policy is private insurance that pays some or all of those leftover amounts.

Two things Medigap is not:

• It is not a Medicare Advantage plan. You cannot have both at the same time. Medigap sits alongside Original Medicare; Medicare Advantage replaces how you get your Part A and B benefits.
• It does not cover prescriptions. If you want drug coverage, you enroll in a separate Part D plan.

The standardized letters available in Florida today

Florida uses the federal standardized Medigap plans (unlike Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which have their own systems). If you're newly eligible for Medicare today, these letters are on the menu:

• Plan A – the basic package of core benefits.
• Plan B – core benefits plus the Part A deductible.
• Plan D – broader coverage, but no Part B deductible.
• Plan G – the most comprehensive plan open to newly eligible people; it does not cover the Part B deductible.
• High-deductible Plan G – same benefits as G, but you pay a yearly deductible before it kicks in.
• Plans K and L – cost-sharing plans with an annual out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan M – splits the Part A deductible with you.
• Plan N – lower premiums in exchange for small copays at doctor and ER visits.

Plans C and F are still in force for people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, but they are closed to anyone who became eligible on or after that date.

Because the benefits inside each letter are set by federal rules, a Plan G from one insurer covers exactly the same services as a Plan G from another. What changes between companies is the premium, how they raise rates over time, and their customer service.

How Medigap works with Part D and Original Medicare

The typical Tampa setup looks like this:

1. Original Medicare (Parts A and B) is your primary coverage. 2. A Medigap policy pays some or all of what Original Medicare leaves behind. 3. A stand-alone Part D plan handles prescriptions.

A few 2026 Part D facts to keep in mind as you build that stack:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly amounts, at no extra charge.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

When you can buy — and the rules that shape your choice

The strongest protection is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period: the six months that start the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers must sell you any Medigap policy they offer, at their best available rate for your age, without asking health questions.

Outside that window, insurers in most states — including Florida — can use medical underwriting, which means they can charge more or turn you down based on health history. There are federal guaranteed issue rights in a handful of situations (for example, if a Medicare Advantage plan leaves your area or you move out of its service area), but those are limited.

Florida does not have a "birthday rule" like California or Oregon that lets you switch Medigap plans each year without underwriting. Any state-specific rights beyond the federal ones can change, so confirm current rules with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation or Florida SHINE, the state's free counseling program (SHIP).

One more Florida-specific point worth knowing: Medigap premiums can be priced three different ways — community-rated, issue-age, or attained-age. Two policies with the same letter can cost very different amounts over time depending on which pricing method the insurer uses. Ask before you sign.

How to compare insurers in Tampa

There is no single official list of Medigap carriers we can print here, but there are three reliable ways to see who sells what in Hillsborough County:

• Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search. Enter your Tampa ZIP code to see every insurer licensed to sell each letter in your area, along with contact information.
• Florida's Medigap rate guide from the Office of Insurance Regulation, which lists premium ranges by plan and company.
• Florida SHINE, the state's SHIP, which offers free one-on-one counseling by phone or in person and does not sell insurance.

The table below lists every plan letter available to newly eligible people; use it as your checklist when you compare quotes.