Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Savage: how the lettered plans are built and what they pay for

SAVAGE, Minn. — If you have Original Medicare and you have ever stared at a chart of Medigap "letter" plans wondering why they exist, you are not alone. Medicare Supplement insurance — the formal name for Medigap — is designed to pick up some of the costs Original Medicare leaves behind, like coinsurance and hospital copays. What trips people up is that the plans are sold by private insurers but the benefits inside each letter are set by federal rules.

Medicare SupplementSavage, MN

Savage is in Scott County, and the Medigap rulebook here works the same way it does across most of the country: the letter tells you what the plan covers, not the company selling it.

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 portion, you are usually left with deductibles, coinsurance (often 20% of the Part B-approved amount), and hospital copays if a stay runs long. There is no annual out-of-pocket cap on Original Medicare by itself.

A Medigap policy sits behind Original Medicare and pays some or all of those leftover costs, depending on the letter you choose. You keep your red, white, and blue Medicare card and add a second card from your Medigap insurer. Doctors bill Medicare first, then the Medigap plan.

Medigap does not cover prescription drugs, dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term care. Those are separate.

How the standardized letters work

Here is the part that confuses people the most: Medigap plans are sold by private companies, but the government sets what each letter must cover. If two insurers both sell Plan G in Minnesota, the covered benefits inside that Plan G are identical. What can differ is the premium, the company's customer service, and whether they offer extras like a small fitness perk.

The plans currently sold to people newly eligible for Medicare are:

• Plan A — the most basic set of benefits.
• Plan B — adds the Part A deductible on top of Plan A.
• Plan D — broader coverage, but does not cover the Part B deductible.
• Plan G — the most comprehensive plan available to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. It covers everything Plan F used to cover except the Part B deductible.
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans that pay a percentage (K pays 50%, L pays 75%) of certain services and include an annual out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan M — splits the Part A deductible.
• Plan N — similar to G but with small copays for some office and ER visits.

Plans C and F are still held by people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, but they are no longer sold to newly eligible enrollees because they covered the Part B deductible.

Minnesota is one of three states (along with Massachusetts and Wisconsin) that uses its own standardized Medigap framework rather than the lettered plans used in most other states. Minnesota policies are built around a Basic plan with optional riders and an Extended Basic plan. If you are shopping in Savage, ask any insurer or agent whether the policy you are looking at is a Minnesota standardized plan, and get the coverage details in writing.

Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage — they are not the same thing

This is worth spelling out, because the two are often confused.

Medicare Advantage (Part C) replaces Original Medicare with a private plan that bundles hospital, medical, and usually drug coverage together, often with a network.

Medigap works alongside Original Medicare. You cannot use a Medigap policy to pay costs under a Medicare Advantage plan. You also cannot have both at the same time — you pick one lane.

When you can buy a Medigap plan

Timing matters more with Medigap than most people realize. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers must sell you any Medigap plan 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 ask health questions and, in some cases, charge more or decline coverage. There are limited "guaranteed issue" situations later on (for example, if certain other coverage ends), but they are narrower than the initial open enrollment window.

Medigap enrollment is not tied to Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7). AEP is for Part D and Medicare Advantage decisions.

Do not forget Part D

Because Medigap does not include drug coverage, most people with a Medigap policy also enroll in a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan. For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, a maximum deductible of $615, and the old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone — Part D now has three phases. If drug costs are hard to budget month to month, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is an optional program that lets you spread your covered drug costs across the calendar year.

Higher-income enrollees may pay an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D; for 2026 that starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer.