Medicare Supplement

Medigap Explained: How Newark Reads Medicare Letters

NEWARK, N.J. — If you've turned 65 recently or you're helping a parent sort through Medicare mail, you've probably run into a wall of letters: Plan A, Plan B, Plan G, Plan N, and more. Those letters aren't grades. They're the names of standardized Medicare Supplement plans — better known as Medigap — and understanding how they work can spare you a lot of confusion and unexpected bills.

Here's a plain-English guide to what Medigap does, what it doesn't, and how to think about it as you plan for the year ahead.

What Medigap actually is

Medigap is private insurance you can buy to sit alongside Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and, depending on the plan, the Part A hospital deductible.

A few things to keep straight from the start:

• Medigap only works with Original Medicare. It does not work with Medicare Advantage. In fact, it's illegal for someone to sell you a Medigap policy if you're on an Advantage plan, except in narrow situations.
• Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage. For drugs, you'd add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• You pay a monthly premium for Medigap on top of your Part B premium.

For the official rundown, Medicare.gov's "Medicare basics" section is the plainest source.

Why the plans are labeled with letters

In most states, Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means Plan G from one insurance company covers the exact same core benefits as Plan G from another company. The price can differ. The benefits can't.

There are ten standardized plans available across most of the country: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize things a little differently.)

Two important notes:

• Plans C and F are no longer sold to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them.
• Plan G and Plan N are the two you'll hear about most often today, because they're the most comprehensive options widely available to new enrollees.

Because benefits are standardized, when you're comparing quotes, you're really comparing price, customer service, and the insurance company itself — not the coverage itself within the same letter.

What Medigap does not cover

Medigap is designed to fill gaps in Original Medicare — not to expand it. So it generally does not cover:

• Prescription drugs (you need Part D for that)
• Routine dental, vision, or hearing care
• Long-term custodial care in a nursing home
• Private-duty nursing
• Eyeglasses or hearing aids

If those benefits matter to you, you'd need to look at them separately.

The enrollment window that matters most

The single most important date in the Medigap world is the start of your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. It's a six-month window that begins the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.

During that window, insurance companies must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at the best available rate, regardless of your health history. Once that window closes, in most states, insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can charge you more, or turn you down, based on your health.

There are some protections outside that window (called "guaranteed issue" rights), but they're limited. That's why the six-month clock matters so much.

This is different from the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7), which is when you change Part D or Medicare Advantage plans. Medigap doesn't follow that calendar.

Where Newark fits in

Newark is in Essex County, and like the rest of New Jersey, Medigap plans here are standardized under federal rules. What differs locally is which insurance companies sell which letter plans, and at what price. New Jersey also has some additional state protections around Medigap — for example, rules that can make it easier for certain residents to switch plans. A local SHIP counselor can walk you through what applies to your situation.

For Medicare Advantage and Part D — which are separate products — availability is set at the county level. So if you're weighing Medigap against Advantage, remember you're comparing two different systems: standardized supplemental coverage on one side, and county-based network plans on the other.

A quick word on 2026 Part D

Even though Medigap doesn't cover drugs, most people who choose Medigap also enroll in a stand-alone Part D plan. A few program-level numbers worth knowing for 2026:

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