Medicare Supplement

Which Medigap plan letters can you actually buy in Louisville?

Medigap — also called Medicare Supplement Insurance — is a private policy that helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs left behind by Original Medicare, like coinsurance and hospital costs. It only works alongside Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It is not Medicare Advantage, and it does not replace Medicare.

Medicare SupplementLouisville, KY

What Medigap is, and what it is not

One thing that surprises a lot of people in Louisville: Medigap does not cover prescription drugs. If you want drug coverage, you sign up for a separate Medicare Part D plan.

The plan letters you can buy in Kentucky

Medigap policies are standardized by the federal government, which means a Plan G from one company covers the same core benefits as a Plan G from another. What can differ is the price and the customer service — not the basic benefits.

In Kentucky, people who are newly eligible for Medicare today can choose from these standardized letters:

• Plan A
• Plan B
• Plan D
• Plan G
• High-deductible Plan G
• Plan K
• Plan L
• Plan M
• Plan N

Plans C and F are still around, but only for people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If that is you, you may still be able to buy one.

Three states — Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin — standardize their Medigap plans differently. Kentucky uses the federal letter system, so the list above is what applies here.

How Medigap works with Original Medicare and Part D

A common setup for Louisville residents looks like this:

• Part A and Part B (Original Medicare): your base coverage from the federal government.
• A Medigap policy: helps pay the share Original Medicare leaves to you.
• A stand-alone Part D plan: covers prescription drugs.

If you have a Medigap policy, you generally cannot also have a Medicare Advantage plan. It is one path or the other.

For 2026, Part D also has some important program-level numbers to know: a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, a maximum deductible of $615, and the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly amounts.

Kentucky rules that shape your choice

Louisville is in Jefferson County, and Medigap policies are regulated at the state level in Kentucky. A few rules matter most:

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurers must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate, regardless of your health history. Miss it, and in many cases insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning your health can affect whether you get a policy and what you pay.

Guaranteed issue rights. Federal law gives you the right to buy certain Medigap policies without underwriting in specific situations, such as losing other coverage. Some states add extra rights (like "birthday rules") on top of the federal ones. For what applies in Kentucky, the Kentucky Department of Insurance and the state SHIP are the right places to check.

Pricing methods. Insurers can price Medigap policies in different ways — for example, by your age when you buy it, by your current age, or the same for everyone regardless of age. Two policies with the same letter can cost very different amounts, and the price can change over time in different ways. That is why comparing more than one quote matters.

How to find the insurers selling Medigap here

We do not list specific insurers on this page. To see which companies sell Medigap policies in your ZIP code and what they charge, use these free resources:

• Medicare.gov Medigap policy search: enter your ZIP code to see policies available in Louisville and surrounding Jefferson County.
• Kentucky Department of Insurance: publishes a Medigap rate guide with premium information by company and plan letter.
• Kentucky SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program): offers free, unbiased one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers.
• 1-800-MEDICARE: available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Timing: when to shop and when to switch

If you are approaching 65, mark your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period on the calendar. That is your strongest window.

Outside that window, you can still apply for a Medigap policy any time of year, but insurers may look at your health. Kentucky does not have an "annual" open enrollment for Medigap the way it does for Medicare Advantage and Part D.

Speaking of those: the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) apply to Advantage and Part D plans, not Medigap.