Medicare Supplement

The rules behind Medigap letter plans in Brooklyn Park

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — If you've ever tried to shop for a Medicare Supplement policy, you've probably stared at a row of letters — A, B, D, G, K, L, M, N — and wondered what on earth you're looking at. You're not alone. These letters are actually one of the most consumer-friendly parts of Medicare, once you know the rules behind them.

A plain-English look at Medicare Supplement plans

Medicare Supplement insurance, often called Medigap, is sold by private insurance companies to help pay some of the costs that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles. Here in Brooklyn Park, which sits in Hennepin County, seniors have a range of Medigap options available, though Minnesota handles Medigap a little differently than most other states (more on that below).

What Medigap actually does

Original Medicare pays a large share of your hospital and doctor bills, but not all of it. After Part A and Part B pay their portions, you're typically responsible for the rest — and there's no yearly cap on those out-of-pocket costs in Original Medicare alone.

A Medigap policy steps in to help cover those remaining pieces. Depending on the plan you choose, it can help pay:

• Part A hospital coinsurance
• Part B coinsurance or copays
• The first three pints of blood
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• Foreign travel emergency care (on some plans)

Medigap does not cover prescription drugs (you'd add a separate Part D plan for that), and it doesn't work with Medicare Advantage. You choose one lane or the other.

Why the letters exist

Before 1990, Medigap policies were a confusing mess — every company sold something different, and shoppers couldn't compare apples to apples. Congress fixed that by requiring insurers to sell standardized plans, each labeled with a letter.

Here's the key idea: A Plan G from one company covers the exact same benefits as a Plan G from any other company. The federal government sets what each letter includes. What can differ between insurers is:

• The monthly premium
• Customer service
• How the company handles rate increases over time
• Optional extras like SilverSneakers, which aren't part of the standardized benefits

So if you're comparing two Plan Ns, you're really comparing price and company reputation, not benefits.

The letter plans available today

Most states offer these standardized plans: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before Jan. 1, 2020 — a change Congress made a few years back.

Plan G and Plan N tend to be the most talked-about choices for people newly eligible today, but the "right" letter depends on your health, budget, and how you like to handle bills. Some plans cover almost everything; others use cost-sharing to keep premiums lower.

Minnesota does it differently

Here's an important local wrinkle: Minnesota is one of three states (along with Wisconsin and Massachusetts) that does not use the standard letter system. Instead, Minnesota Medigap plans come in two main forms — a Basic Plan and an Extended Basic Plan — with optional riders you can add on.

So a Brooklyn Park resident shopping for Medigap won't see the same A-through-N menu that a shopper in, say, Florida would see. The idea is the same — standardized benefits so you can compare fairly — but the labels are different.

For a full breakdown of Minnesota's Medigap structure, the Minnesota Board on Aging and the Senior LinkAge Line® (Minnesota's SHIP program) are excellent, unbiased places to start.

When you can buy — and why timing matters

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period, a six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurers must sell you any policy they offer at their best available rate, regardless of your health history.

Outside that window, in most states insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can charge you more, or turn you down, based on your health. Minnesota has some additional consumer protections, but the general rule is: don't sleep on that six-month window.

Medigap enrollment is not tied to the fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7). That deadline applies to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.