Medicare Supplement

Medicare Supplement in Columbus: how Ohio's standardized letters actually work

# Medicare Supplement in Columbus: how Ohio's standardized letters actually…

If you live in Columbus and you're weighing a Medicare Supplement policy — often called Medigap — the first thing to understand is that the coverage itself is set by the federal government, not by the insurance company. Every Medigap policy sold in Ohio uses a standardized letter, and the benefits behind that letter are the same from one company to the next. What changes is the price and the company selling it.

That single fact makes shopping easier than it looks at first glance. Here's how the letters work in Ohio, how Medigap pairs with the rest of Original Medicare, and where to go for the specifics that fit your situation.

What "standardized" really means

Medigap is federally standardized. That means Plan G from one company covers the same gaps in Original Medicare as Plan G from another company. The same is true for every other letter. Only three states — Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin — standardize their policies differently. Ohio follows the federal model.

So when you compare Medigap policies in Columbus, you are not comparing benefits letter by letter within the same plan. You are comparing price, the company's reputation, customer service, and how they raise rates over time.

The letters you can buy in Ohio today

If you're newly eligible for Medicare, these are the standardized letters currently sold: A, B, D, G, high-deductible G, K, L, M, and N.

Plans C and F are still held by many people who enrolled before 2020, but they are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. That change came from federal law, not Ohio.

Each letter covers a different mix of the out-of-pocket costs left behind by Part A and Part B — things like coinsurance, hospital costs after Medicare's benefits end, and, in some letters, the Part B deductible. Medicare.gov publishes a side-by-side chart of what each letter covers, and it's the most reliable place to start.

How Medigap fits with the rest of Medicare

A Medigap policy only works alongside Original Medicare — Part A (hospital) and Part B (medical). If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, a Medigap policy can't pay your Advantage cost-sharing, and you generally can't use both at the same time.

Medigap also does not include prescription drug coverage. Most people with a Medigap policy also enroll in a stand-alone Part D drug plan. A few things worth knowing for 2026:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap (the "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly amounts, at no extra charge.
• IRMAA (higher premiums for higher incomes) starts above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Timing matters more than most people realize

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — the six months that start the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, an insurer must sell you any policy it offers at its best available rate for your age, regardless of your health history.

Outside that window, federal law only guarantees you the right to buy a Medigap policy in certain situations (for example, if a Medicare Advantage plan you joined at 65 leaves your area). Ohio may recognize additional guaranteed-issue rights beyond the federal minimum; for questions specific to your circumstances, contact the Ohio Department of Insurance or OSHIIP, the state's SHIP program.

The Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) do not apply to Medigap the way they apply to Part D and Advantage. Medigap has its own rules.

How insurers set the price

Two policies with the same letter can carry very different prices because insurers use different pricing methods:

• Community-rated — everyone with that policy pays the same, regardless of age.
• Issue-age-rated — the price is based on your age when you buy the policy.
• Attained-age-rated — the price is based on your current age and goes up as you age.

None of these is automatically better. What matters is how the price starts and how it changes over time. The Ohio Department of Insurance publishes a Medigap rate guide that shows premiums by company and plan letter, and it's a useful place to see how the same letter is priced across the market.

Where to compare in Columbus

Columbus is in Franklin County. To see which insurers sell each letter in your ZIP code, use the Medigap policy search on Medicare.gov. It's the official source and it's updated regularly. The Ohio Department of Insurance rate guide and OSHIIP counselors can walk you through the pricing side without trying to sell you anything.

The table below lists the standardized plan letters available in Ohio at a glance.