Medicare Supplement

How Medigap letters standardize Medicare coverage in Anderson

If you live in Anderson and have Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), you already know it doesn't cover everything. There are deductibles, coinsurance, and copays that can add up quickly, especially if you land in the hospital.

What Medigap actually does

That's the gap a Medicare Supplement policy — often called Medigap — is designed to fill. It's private insurance you buy on top of Original Medicare to help pay some of those leftover costs. Medigap doesn't replace Medicare; it works alongside it. When you get care, Medicare pays its share first, and your Medigap plan picks up part of what's left, based on the plan you chose.

One important note: Medigap is different from Medicare Advantage (Part C). You can't have both at the same time. Medigap only works with Original Medicare.

Why the plans come with letters

Here's where a lot of folks get confused. Medigap plans are labeled with letters — A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Those letters aren't random branding. They're standardized by the federal government.

That means a Plan G sold by one insurance company covers the exact same set of benefits as a Plan G sold by any other company. The price can be different. The customer service can be different. But the covered benefits inside each lettered plan are set by Medicare rules, according to CMS at medicare.gov.

So when you compare Medigap plans, you're really doing two things at once: 1. Deciding which letter (which set of benefits) fits your needs. 2. Deciding which company to buy that letter from.

What the letters generally cover

Every Medigap plan helps with some combination of these basics:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and extra hospital days after Medicare runs out
• Part B coinsurance or copayments
• The first three pints of blood each year
• Hospice coinsurance or copayments

From there, the plans branch out. Some cover skilled nursing facility coinsurance, some help with the Part A deductible, and some cover a portion of foreign travel emergencies. Plans K and L pay a percentage of certain costs rather than the full amount and include an annual out-of-pocket limit.

Two quick things worth knowing:

• Plan F is only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If you aged in after that date, it's off the table for you.
• Plans C and F are the two plans that cover the Part B deductible, and for the same reason, newer enrollees can't buy them.

A note for Anderson readers

Anderson is in Madison County, and Medigap works a little differently than Medicare Advantage. Availability isn't set county-by-county the same way. Any insurance company licensed to sell Medigap in Indiana can offer the standardized letter plans here, so your choices are shaped more by what carriers do business in the state than by your ZIP code.

Prices, though, can vary from company to company for the exact same lettered plan. That's why it pays to compare.

When to enroll — and why timing matters

Your best window to buy a Medigap policy is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. It's a six-month stretch that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurance companies can't turn you down or charge you more because of health problems.

If you wait until later, in most states — Indiana included — insurers can use medical underwriting. That means they can look at your health history and decide whether to sell you a policy and at what price. This is one of the most common (and most costly) surprises in Medicare, so if you're approaching 65 in Anderson, mark that six-month window on your calendar.

Medigap does not follow the fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7). That deadline is for Part D and Medicare Advantage. Medigap has its own timing rules.

Medigap and your drug coverage

Medigap plans sold today do not include prescription drug coverage. If you want help paying for medications, you'll typically add a stand-alone Part D plan.

A few 2026 numbers worth knowing as you plan:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap (the "donut hole") is gone as of 2025.
• You can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads your drug costs across monthly payments instead of hitting you all at once at the pharmacy.