Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Springfield: what those letter plans really cover

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — If you've been reading up on Medicare and stumbled across "Plan G" or "Plan N," you're not alone in feeling a little lost. Medicare Supplement insurance — often called Medigap — uses a lettering system that looks like alphabet soup at first glance. Once you understand what it does, though, the picture gets a lot clearer.

Here's a plain-language guide to how Medigap works, what it does and doesn't cover, and how the standardized letter plans fit together.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medigap is private insurance you can buy to help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind. That means things like the Part A hospital deductible, Part B coinsurance, and other cost-sharing you'd otherwise pay yourself.

A few important points about what Medigap is not:

• It is not Medicare Advantage (Part C). Medigap works alongside Original Medicare (Parts A and B). You can't have both a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time.
• It generally does not include prescription drug coverage. For drugs, most people add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• It does not cover long-term care, most dental, vision, hearing aids, or private-duty nursing.

How the standardized letter plans work

Here's the part that trips people up: Medigap plans are sold by private insurance companies, but the benefits inside each lettered plan are standardized by the federal government. That means Plan G from one insurer covers the same core benefits as Plan G from another. What changes between companies is the price and the customer service — not the medical benefits.

In most states, the plans available today are labeled A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are only available to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.) Each letter is a different bundle of benefits. For example, Plan G tends to be one of the more comprehensive options for newer enrollees, while Plan N has some cost-sharing built in. Plans K and L cap your yearly out-of-pocket spending but pay a smaller share along the way.

A quick note for Springfield readers: Massachusetts is one of three states — along with Minnesota and Wisconsin — that standardize Medigap plans differently. Instead of the letter plans, Massachusetts uses its own set of options, generally called Core and Supplement 1 (with a Supplement 1A version for people newly eligible on or after Jan. 1, 2020). If you're shopping in Hampden County, those are the names you'll see most often.

What Medigap typically helps with

Depending on which plan you choose, Medigap can help pay for:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and an extra 365 days of hospital coverage after Medicare benefits end
• Part B coinsurance or copayments
• The first three pints of blood each year
• Hospice care coinsurance
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance (on most plans)
• The Part A deductible (on most plans)

Some plans also cover a share of emergency care during foreign travel. Again, the exact mix depends on the letter — or in Massachusetts, the specific plan design.

When you can buy a Medigap policy

Timing matters more with Medigap than a lot of people realize. Your best window is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — a six-month stretch that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers can't turn you down or charge you more because of health problems.

Outside that window, in most states insurers can use medical underwriting, which may affect whether you can get a policy or what you'll pay. Massachusetts has stronger consumer protections than many states, including a continuous or annual open enrollment for Medigap, but rules and timing can still affect you. Before you switch or drop a policy, it's worth confirming your specific rights.

How Medigap fits with Part D and 2026 changes

Because Medigap generally doesn't cover prescriptions, many people pair it with a stand-alone Part D drug plan. There are some big Part D changes to know for 2026:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap (the "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs over monthly payments instead of paying all at once at the pharmacy.
• Higher-income enrollees pay IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D; for a single filer in 2026, those start above $109,000 in income.

Key enrollment dates: the Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs Jan. 1 – March 31. Medigap has its own enrollment rules separate from those windows.