Medicare Supplement

New to Medicare in New Orleans? Start with these letters

If you live in New Orleans and you have Original Medicare, you have probably heard about Medicare Supplement insurance — often called Medigap. These policies help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare leaves behind, like coinsurance and hospital deductibles. In Louisiana, the policies you can buy are federally standardized, which means the benefits inside each "letter" plan are the same no matter which company sells it. Here is a plain-language look at how that works in Orleans Parish, and what to check before you decide.

What Medigap is — and what it is not

Medigap is private insurance you buy on top of Original Medicare. It can pick up costs like the Part A hospital coinsurance, the Part B coinsurance, and — depending on the letter you pick — the Part A and B deductibles.

A few things Medigap does not do:

• It does not replace Medicare. You must be enrolled in Parts A and B first.
• It does not work with a Medicare Advantage plan. You cannot use both at the same time.
• It does not cover prescription drugs. If you want drug coverage, you add a separate Part D plan.
• It generally does not cover dental, vision, hearing aids or long-term care.

The plan letters you can buy in Louisiana

Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government (except in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which use their own systems). Louisiana follows the federal letters.

If you are newly eligible for Medicare today, these are the letters offered:

• Plan A and Plan B — the more basic options
• Plan D, Plan G, Plan G-HD (high-deductible G), Plan M and Plan N — a range of mid- to higher-benefit designs
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans with an annual out-of-pocket limit

Plans C and F are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them.

Because the benefits inside "Plan G," for example, are identical from one insurer to the next, the differences between companies come down to price, rate history, billing and customer service — not the coverage itself.

How Medigap pairs with Original Medicare and Part D

A common New Orleans setup looks like this:

1. Part A and Part B (Original Medicare) pay first for hospital and medical services. 2. A Medigap policy pays some or all of what Original Medicare leaves you owing, based on the letter you picked. 3. A stand-alone Part D plan covers your prescription drugs.

For 2026, Part D has some important program-level features to know:

• The out-of-pocket cap for covered drugs is $2,100.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments if you choose.
• IRMAA surcharges (higher Part B and Part D premiums for higher earners) start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Louisiana rules that shape your choice

Federal law gives you a 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period that begins the month you are 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 about your health.

Outside that window, in many cases insurers can look at your health history (medical underwriting) and decide whether to offer you a policy and at what price. There are limited federal "guaranteed issue" situations — for example, if certain other coverage ends involuntarily.

Some states add extra protections, such as "birthday rules" or broader guaranteed issue rights. For the current rules that apply in Louisiana, the best sources are the Louisiana Department of Insurance and Louisiana SHIIP (the state's free Medicare counseling program). They can tell you exactly what rights you have if you want to switch plans or insurers later.

Comparing insurers in Orleans Parish

Because the letter defines the benefits, comparing Medigap companies in New Orleans is mostly a pricing and stability question. A few things worth asking:

• How is the premium priced? Common methods are community-rated, issue-age-rated and attained-age-rated. Each one behaves differently as you age.
• What has the company's rate history looked like? The Louisiana Department of Insurance publishes a Medigap rate guide that can help you compare.
• Does the company offer any household or payment discounts? These vary by insurer.
• How easy is billing and claims? Ask friends or your SHIIP counselor.

The table below lists every plan letter available, so you can see the full picture before you narrow things down. This article does not name specific insurers — for the current list of companies selling Medigap in your ZIP code, use the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search.

When you can make changes

Medigap does not have the same yearly open enrollment as Medicare Advantage or Part D. You can apply for a new Medigap policy any time of year, but outside a guaranteed-issue situation, the insurer can use medical underwriting.

Two dates worth keeping on your calendar for the Medicare side of your coverage:

• October 15 – December 7: Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period, when you can join, switch or drop Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan.