Medicare Supplement

Shopping for Medigap in Honolulu? Here's how Hawaii's lettered plans line up

Honolulu is the biggest Medicare market in the state, and if you have Original Medicare here, a Medicare Supplement policy — usually called Medigap — is one way to fill in some of what Parts A and B do not pay. The plans sold in Hawaii follow the same federal letters used in most of the country, so once you learn the letters, comparing offers gets easier.

What Medigap is — and what it is not

Medigap is private insurance that pays some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind, such as coinsurance and, depending on the letter, part of your deductibles. It is not Medicare Advantage. You cannot use a Medigap policy with a Medicare Advantage plan, and Medigap does not cover prescription drugs, dental, vision or hearing.

If you want prescription coverage, you pair Original Medicare and your Medigap policy with a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

The lettered plans you can buy in Hawaii

Every insurer in Hawaii must sell the same standardized letters, using the same federal benefit chart. That means a Plan G from one company covers the same medical services as a Plan G from another; what differs is the price and the company behind the policy.

For someone newly eligible for Medicare today, the letters available in Hawaii are:

• Plan A
• Plan B
• Plan D
• Plan G (and a high-deductible version, Plan G-HD)
• Plan K
• Plan L
• Plan M
• Plan N

Plans C and F are still in force for people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, but they are closed to newer enrollees. The table below lists every plan letter side by side so you can see how the benefits compare.

How Medigap pairs with Original Medicare and Part D

Think of it as a three-part setup:

1. Original Medicare (Parts A and B) pays first for hospital and doctor services. 2. Your Medigap policy picks up some of the coinsurance, copays and, for certain letters, deductibles that Medicare leaves for you. 3. A stand-alone Part D plan covers your prescription drugs.

For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs and a maximum deductible of $615. The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases instead of four. If your drug costs are uneven month to month, you can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads what you owe across the year.

Higher earners should know about IRMAA — the income-related surcharge that raises Part B and Part D premiums for single filers with incomes above $109,000 in 2026.

When to buy — and why timing matters so much

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time, six-month window that starts the first month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers in Hawaii must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate, no matter your health history.

Miss that window and, in most cases, an insurer can look at your medical history (medical underwriting) and decide whether to offer you a policy and at what price. There are limited federal "guaranteed issue" rights — for example, if certain coverage you had ends through no fault of your own — but they are narrower than the initial open enrollment window.

Hawaii may also offer state-level protections beyond the federal rules. For a straight answer about rights in your situation, contact the Hawaii Insurance Division or Hawaii SHIP before you switch or drop coverage.

How prices can differ even when benefits do not

Because the benefits inside each letter are set by federal rules, price is where insurers compete. Two things drive what you pay:

• Rating method. Companies can price policies based on your age when you buy (issue-age), your current age (attained-age) or a flat rate for everyone in a group (community-rated). The method affects how your premium changes over time.
• Discounts and household rules. Some insurers offer household or other discounts. These vary and are not part of the standardized benefits.

Two Plan G policies can look identical on paper and still have different premiums a decade from now because of how they were priced at the start. When you compare quotes, ask each insurer which rating method it uses.

How to find the insurers selling Medigap in Honolulu

We do not list carriers here because availability changes and prices are personal. Three reliable places to look:

• Medicare.gov Medigap policy search. Enter your ZIP code to see every policy sold in your area, by letter.
• Hawaii Insurance Division. The department publishes rate guides and consumer information for Medigap shoppers in the state.
• Hawaii SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). Free, one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who do not sell insurance.

You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE any time with questions about how Medigap, Original Medicare and Part D fit together.