Medicare Supplement

How Medicare Supplement plans work in Germantown, MD

Germantown, Md. — If you've ever tried to shop for a Medicare Supplement policy and felt lost in a wall of letters — Plan A, Plan G, Plan N — you're not alone. Medicare Supplement insurance, often called Medigap, is meant to work alongside Original Medicare and help pay some of the costs Medicare leaves behind. Here's a plain-English look at what it does, what it doesn't, and how those standardized letter plans actually work.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medigap is sold by private insurance companies to fill in some of the "gaps" in Original Medicare. Think of Original Medicare as the main coverage and Medigap as a helper policy that picks up part of the coinsurance, copayments, or deductibles you'd otherwise pay yourself.

Medigap does not replace Medicare. You must already be enrolled in Part A and Part B to buy one. It also doesn't cover prescription drugs, long-term care, dental, vision, or hearing aids. Those benefits come from other sources — a stand-alone Part D drug plan for medications, for example.

One important rule: you can't have both a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time. Medigap is designed to work only with Original Medicare.

Why the letters exist

In most states, Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government and labeled with letters — currently Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are generally only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.)

Standardization is the key idea here. A Plan G sold by one insurer must offer the same core benefits as a Plan G sold by any other insurer. What can differ is the price, the customer service, and sometimes small extras. That means when you compare Medigap policies with the same letter, you're mostly comparing premiums and the company behind the policy — not the benefits themselves.

Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their Medigap plans differently, so if you move from or to one of those states, the choices will look different.

When you can buy a Medigap policy

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

Outside that window, you can still apply, but in most states insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning your health history may affect whether you're accepted or what you pay. A few states have their own more generous rules, so it's worth checking local law.

This is different from Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (January 1 – March 31), which apply to Advantage and Part D plans, not Medigap.

How Medigap fits with Part D and 2026 changes

Because Medigap doesn't cover prescriptions, many people who choose Original Medicare plus Medigap also enroll in a separate Part D drug plan. A few 2026 numbers worth knowing:

• Part D has a new $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drug costs.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025; Part D now has three simpler phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying big bills at the pharmacy counter.
• Higher-income enrollees may pay IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D; for 2026, IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

None of those numbers change what Medigap itself covers, but they matter if you're planning your overall Medicare setup.

What this looks like locally

Germantown is in Montgomery County, where residents can choose between staying with Original Medicare (and optionally adding Medigap and a Part D plan) or enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan. Medigap availability and pricing are regulated at the state level in Maryland, so the letter plans offered here follow the same federal standardization used across most of the country.

If you want to see specific policies and prices in your ZIP code, Medicare's official plan finder at medicare.gov is the cleanest place to start.