Medicare Supplement

Eligible for Medicare after 2020? Georgia Medigap rules

Atlanta — If you carry a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy in Georgia, or you are shopping for one this fall, a handful of moving parts reset with the calendar. The plan letters you can buy depend on when you first became eligible for Medicare. The Part B deductible that sits at the center of Plans G and N is refreshed by CMS each year. And insurers file new rates with the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner on their own schedules, which means your renewal premium may not match what a new applicant next door is quoted.

Here is a plain-English guide to what changes in 2026, what does not, and where Atlanta readers can check the specifics for their own ZIP code.

Which plan letters you can buy in Georgia

Medigap policies are standardized by letter across most states, and Georgia follows the federal standardization rules. For anyone newly eligible for Medicare today, the letters available are A, B, D, G, G-HD (a high-deductible version of G), K, L, M, and N.

Plans C and F are only sold to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. That rule has not changed for 2026 — it is a permanent effect of the MACRA law that phased those two letters out for newer beneficiaries because they cover the Part B deductible.

If you are turning 65 in Atlanta next year, or leaving employer coverage, C and F are not options. If you have been eligible since before 2020, you can technically still apply for them, though availability and pricing vary by carrier.

The Part B deductible reset — why it matters for G and N

Plans G and N are the two letters most Atlanta shoppers ask about, and both are built around the Part B deductible. With Plan G, you pay the Part B deductible each year, and the plan picks up the Medicare-approved costs after that. Plan N works similarly on the deductible, with some office-visit and ER copays layered on.

That deductible amount is set by CMS and resets every January 1. The 2026 figure is published on medicare.gov — check it there before you compare a G or N quote, because it is the out-of-pocket number you are agreeing to absorb yourself.

Rate-adjustment season in Georgia

Medicare sets the benefits inside each Medigap letter, but it does not set the price. Insurers licensed in Georgia file their rates and any proposed changes with the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner. Filings happen on each carrier's own cycle, not on a single statewide date, so two neighbors with the same plan letter from different insurers can see very different renewal timing.

A few things to know as renewal notices land:

• Georgia's Medigap market is generally "attained-age" rated, meaning premiums typically rise as you get older, in addition to any across-the-board rate change a carrier files.
• A rate change on your renewal is not the same thing as a benefit change — the letter's benefits are standardized and do not shift year to year.
• If your renewal jumps more than you expected, you can shop other carriers, but outside your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment (the six months starting when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B), insurers in Georgia can use medical underwriting.

The Georgia insurance department publishes a Medigap rate comparison guide that lists filed premiums by carrier, plan letter and age band. That guide, plus the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search, are the two places to verify current numbers for your ZIP code.

Insurers entering or leaving Georgia

Medigap carrier participation in Georgia shifts modestly from year to year as insurers file new forms or discontinue plan letters. We are not listing specific carriers here because the accurate, current roster for your address lives in two places that update in real time:

• The Medicare.gov Medigap policy search, which returns every insurer licensed to sell each letter in your ZIP code.
• The Georgia insurance department's Medigap rate guide, which shows filed rates by company.

If a carrier discontinues a specific plan form, existing policyholders are notified directly and given options; Georgia's guaranteed-issue rules may apply in some of those situations. Georgia SHIP counselors can walk you through your rights if you receive one of those letters.

What is not changing

A few things Atlanta readers sometimes ask about that are staying put for 2026:

• The letters themselves are standardized. A Plan G from one insurer covers the same Medicare cost-sharing as a Plan G from another; price and customer service are what differ.
• Medigap does not include Part D prescription drug coverage. You buy a stand-alone Part D plan separately. (Part D does have real 2026 changes worth knowing: a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap, a $615 maximum deductible, and the optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you spread drug costs monthly.)
• Your one-time six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which starts when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B, is still the window when carriers cannot medically underwrite you.

How to check your own situation

Three steps that cover most Atlanta households:

1. Confirm your Medicare eligibility date — that tells you whether Plans C and F are on your menu. 2. Run the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search by your Atlanta ZIP code to see which insurers sell which letters where you live (Atlanta spans Fulton and DeKalb counties, and availability is determined at that level). 3. Compare your renewal notice against the Georgia insurance department's current rate guide, and call GeorgiaCares, the state SHIP, at 1-866-552-4464 for free, unbiased help.