Medicare Supplement

Medigap, Explained: What Those Letter Plans Actually Cover

AKRON, Ohio — If you're new to Medicare, or helping a parent sort through the mail piling up on the kitchen table, you've probably run into the term "Medigap." You may have also seen a confusing alphabet: Plan A, Plan G, Plan N, and more. Here's a plain-language guide to what Medicare Supplement insurance does, what it doesn't, and how those standardized letters work.

What Medigap Is — and What It Isn't

Medicare Supplement Insurance, commonly called Medigap, is private insurance that works alongside Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and, in some cases, deductibles.

Medigap is not Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage (Part C) replaces the way you get your Original Medicare benefits by bundling them through a private plan, often with extras like dental or vision. Medigap does the opposite: it sits on top of Original Medicare and fills in cost-sharing gaps.

A few important things Medigap does not do:

• It doesn't include prescription drug coverage. For that, you'd add a separate Part D plan.
• It doesn't cover long-term care, most dental, vision, hearing aids, or private-duty nursing.
• You can't have both a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time.

How the Standardized Letters Work

Here's the part that trips up a lot of people. In most states, including Ohio, Medigap policies are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G sold by one insurance company covers exactly the same benefits as a Plan G sold by another company. The price and customer service can differ, but the benefits under each letter are set by law.

Today, the plans available 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 offers a different mix of coverage — for example, some pay your Part B coinsurance in full, some cover a share, and some help with the Part A hospital deductible.

Because the benefits are standardized, the real shopping question isn't "what does Plan G cover here versus there?" It's "which company offers the letter I want at a fair price, with good service?" The official Medigap comparison chart at medicare.gov lays out what each letter includes.

When You Can Buy Medigap Matters

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — the six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurance companies can't turn you down or charge you more because of health problems. This is a federal protection.

Outside that window, in most states, insurers can use medical underwriting. That means they can ask health questions and, in some cases, deny coverage or charge higher premiums. Ohio has some limited protections in specific situations, but the six-month open enrollment window is the strongest guarantee you'll get.

If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan and thinking about switching to Original Medicare plus a Medigap policy, timing and eligibility rules get more complicated. That's a good moment to call for help before making a move.

How Medigap Fits With Part D and the 2026 Drug Cap

Since Medigap doesn't cover prescriptions, most people who choose it also enroll in a stand-alone Part D drug plan. A few 2026 numbers worth knowing:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 for the year. Once you hit that, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments, if that helps with cash flow.

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

Akron and Summit County: What's Local, What's Federal

Akron is in Summit County, where — like everywhere in Ohio — the Medigap plan letters and their benefits are set by federal rules, not by county. What can vary locally is which insurance companies sell which letter plans and at what price. The Ohio Department of Insurance publishes a Medigap rate comparison guide that's a useful starting point.

Availability of Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, on the other hand, is set at the county level. So if you're comparing a Medigap-plus-Part D setup against a Medicare Advantage plan, the Advantage options you see will reflect Summit County's plan lineup.

Key Dates to Keep in Mind

• Medicare Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. This is when you can join, drop, or switch a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in an Advantage plan, you can switch to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and potentially add Medigap, subject to underwriting rules).
• Medigap Open Enrollment: Your personal six-month window starting when you're 65 and enrolled in Part B.