Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Greensboro for 2027: the plan-letter rules, Part B reset and rate filings to watch

Greensboro, N.C. — If you have a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy in Guilford County, or you are thinking about buying one for 2027, a few things shift every year that are worth putting on your calendar now. The plan letters you can choose from depend on when you first became eligible for Medicare, the Part B deductible that Plans G and N are built around resets each January, and insurers refile their Medigap rates with the state — so the price on the same lettered plan can look different next year than it does today.

Medicare SupplementGreensboro, NC

Nothing about Medigap follows the fall Annual Enrollment Period the way Medicare Advantage and Part D do. Medigap has its own rules, and they are worth understanding before you shop.

What plan letters you can actually buy in 2027

Medigap plans are standardized by letter across most states, including North Carolina. Every insurer's Plan G, for example, must cover the same core benefits as any other insurer's Plan G. What differs is the price and the company behind it.

If you are newly eligible for Medicare, the letters open to you are A, B, D, G, G-HD (a high-deductible version of Plan G), K, L, M and N. Plans C and F — the two that used to cover the Part B deductible — are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after Jan. 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy or keep C or F.

That eligibility rule does not change for 2027. But it is the single most common source of confusion when a friend or family member says, "I have Plan F, you should get it too." You may not be allowed to.

The Part B deductible reset — why Plans G and N shift each year

Plans G and N are the two most-discussed letters for new enrollees, and both are designed around the Part B deductible. With Plan G, you pay that deductible each year, and the plan picks up the Part B coinsurance after that. Plan N works similarly, with some office-visit and emergency-room copays.

Because the federal Part B deductible is set annually by CMS, the amount you pay out of pocket before those plans kick in will look slightly different in 2027 than it does in 2026. The plan design does not change — the number behind it does. Medicare.gov publishes the new figure each fall, and it is worth checking before you compare quotes.

Rate-adjustment season in North Carolina

Medigap premiums are not set by Medicare. Insurers file their proposed rates with the North Carolina Department of Insurance, and adjustments typically take effect on a schedule set by each company. Two neighbors in Greensboro with the same lettered plan from the same carrier can pay different premiums based on age, when they enrolled and how the company rates policies.

Before you renew or switch, two documents are worth pulling:

• The North Carolina Medigap rate guide, published by the state Department of Insurance, which lists premiums by company and plan letter.
• The Medicare.gov Medigap policy search, which lets you enter a Greensboro ZIP code and see which insurers offer which lettered plans in your area.

If your premium goes up, that is not automatically a reason to switch — but it is a reason to compare. The table below (or the Medicare.gov tool) will show you every insurer currently selling Medigap in your ZIP code.

Insurers entering or leaving the state

Unlike Medicare Advantage, where CMS publishes a clean annual list of plans entering and exiting each county, Medigap carrier changes in North Carolina show up through state filings. An insurer may stop selling new Medigap policies while continuing to cover existing members, or a new company may begin offering standardized plans.

To see the current lineup for Guilford County, use the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search by ZIP code, or call the North Carolina Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), the state's SHIP. SHIIP counselors do not sell insurance and can walk through the current carrier list with you at no cost.

How to decide, step by step

1. Confirm which plan letters you are eligible for based on your Medicare eligibility date. 2. Decide whether you want predictable costs (a plan like G) or lower premiums with some copays (a plan like N) — or a high-deductible option. 3. Pull the North Carolina rate guide and the Medicare.gov Medigap search for your ZIP code to see who offers your chosen letter. 4. If you are still inside your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which starts when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B, use it — you cannot be turned down or charged more for health reasons during that window. 5. Outside that window, ask each insurer whether medical underwriting applies before you drop a current policy.