Medicare Supplement

How Medigap Letters Work Under Cincinnati Medicare Rules

CINCINNATI, Ohio — If you've ever looked at a Medicare Supplement brochure and wondered why the plans are named after letters of the alphabet, you're not alone. Medigap can feel like alphabet soup at first, but the system is actually designed to make shopping simpler — not harder.

Here's a plain-English guide to what Medigap does, how the letters work, and where Cincinnati readers can get personalized help.

What Medigap Actually Does

Medigap is short for Medicare Supplement Insurance. It's private insurance you can buy to help cover some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) leaves behind — things like deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.

A few key points to keep in mind:

• Medigap only works with Original Medicare. If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can't use a Medigap policy alongside it.
• Medigap policies generally don't include prescription drug coverage. For that, most people add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• You pay a monthly premium to the private insurer, in addition to your Part B premium.

Why the Plans Are Named With Letters

Here's where things get interesting. In most states, Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G sold by one company covers the exact same set of Medicare-approved benefits as a Plan G sold by another company.

The letters currently in use include A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have their own standardized systems.)

Because the benefits are locked in by law, the main things that vary between insurers are:

• The monthly premium
• Customer service and how the company handles claims
• Optional extras some carriers bundle in

That's the whole point of standardization — you can compare policies side by side without decoding fine print.

What the Letters Cover (In General)

Each letter represents a specific mix of benefits. Some plans cover a broad range of gaps in Original Medicare; others cover fewer things in exchange for lower premiums. A few notes worth knowing:

• Plans C and F are no longer available to people who became newly eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them.
• Plans K and L have out-of-pocket limits and cover a percentage of certain costs rather than 100%.
• Plan N typically has lower premiums but may include small copays for office and emergency room visits.

For the current benefit chart, Medicare.gov keeps an up-to-date comparison at medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap.

When You Can Buy a Medigap Policy

Timing matters a lot with Medigap. Your best window is the Medigap Open Enrollment Period — a six-month stretch that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurers can't turn you down or charge you more because of health conditions.

Outside that window, in most states, insurers can use medical underwriting. That means they can review your health history and, in some cases, decline coverage or charge higher rates.

This is different from the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7), which is for Medicare Advantage and Part D — not Medigap.

How This Fits With the Rest of Medicare in 2026

Medigap works alongside Original Medicare, but a lot of your total picture depends on your drug coverage too. A few 2026 program facts worth knowing:

• Part D now has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered prescriptions.
• The Part D deductible can be no higher than $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap has been eliminated; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across monthly installments if that helps your budget.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D premiums start above $109,000 in income for single filers in 2026.

Cincinnati is in Hamilton County, where multiple Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are offered each year. Medigap availability, by contrast, is set by the insurers licensed in Ohio — not by county — so your options depend on which carriers sell in the state.