Medicare Supplement

A Norfolk guide to Medicare Supplement lettering

NORFOLK, Neb. — If you've ever tried to make sense of Medicare, you've probably run into a wall of letters: Part A, Part B, Part D — and then a whole other set of letters like Plan G and Plan N. Those second letters are Medicare Supplement plans, often called Medigap. Here's a plain-language look at what they do, what they don't, and how the standardized lettering works.

What Medigap actually is

Medicare Supplement insurance is private coverage that works alongside Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It doesn't replace Medicare — it fills in some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind, like coinsurance, copayments, and certain deductibles.

You pay a monthly premium to the insurance company for a Medigap policy, in addition to your Part B premium. When you get care, Original Medicare pays its share first, and your Medigap policy picks up its share of what's left, based on the plan you chose.

Medigap is different from Medicare Advantage (Part C). You can't have both at the same time — Medigap only works with Original Medicare.

How the standardized letters 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 set by federal law. That means Plan G from one company covers the same core benefits as Plan G from another company.

The plans currently offered to new enrollees are labeled A, B, D, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are still around, but only for people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.) Each letter is a different mix of benefits — some cover almost everything Original Medicare doesn't, while others leave you sharing more of the cost in exchange for a lower premium.

Because the benefits are standardized, the main things that vary between companies are:

• The monthly premium
• Customer service and billing
• How the company sets rates as you age

Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their Medigap plans a little differently, but Nebraska follows the federal lettering system.

What Medigap does not cover

Medigap is helpful, but it isn't a catch-all. Standardized Medigap plans generally do not cover:

• Prescription drugs (you'd need a separate Part D plan for that)
• Routine dental, vision, or hearing care
• Long-term care (like a nursing home stay beyond what Medicare allows)
• Hearing aids
• Private-duty nursing

For 2026, the Part D prescription drug benefit has some important updates worth knowing about even if they're separate from Medigap: out-of-pocket drug costs are capped at $2,100 a year, the maximum Part D deductible is $615, and the old "donut hole" coverage gap has been eliminated. There's also an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments.

Timing matters — a lot

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

Miss that window, and in most states — Nebraska included — companies can use medical underwriting. That means they can look at your health history and decide whether to sell you a policy and at what price.

This is different from the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31). Those windows apply to Medicare Advantage and Part D — not Medigap.

What's available around Norfolk

Norfolk sits in Madison County, where residents on Original Medicare can shop Medigap policies from multiple private insurers licensed in Nebraska. Because the benefits inside each lettered plan are the same by law, comparing policies mostly comes down to price and the company's reputation. The Nebraska Department of Insurance publishes a Medigap rate comparison guide each year that lists premiums by company and plan letter.