Medicare Supplement

Why Medigap Plans Use Letters in Oregon City, Oregon

OREGON CITY, Ore. — If you're turning 65 soon or helping a parent sort through Medicare mail, you've probably run into a wall of letters: Plan A, Plan G, Plan N, and more. These aren't random. They're part of a system called Medicare Supplement Insurance — better known as Medigap — and understanding how the letters work can save you a lot of second-guessing.

Here in Oregon City, part of Clackamas County, Medigap works the same way it does across most of the country. The federal government sets the rules, insurance companies sell the plans, and the letter on the plan tells you exactly what it covers.

What Medigap Actually Does

Medigap is extra insurance you can buy from a private company to go alongside Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It doesn't replace Medicare. Instead, it helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and, in some plans, the Part A hospital deductible.

A few key points to keep in mind:

• Medigap only works with Original Medicare. It does not work with Medicare Advantage.
• You generally need to have both Part A and Part B before you can buy a Medigap policy.
• Medigap policies cover one person. Spouses each need their own.
• Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage. For that, you'd add a separate Part D drug plan.

Why Every "Plan G" Looks the Same

Here's the part that surprises people: Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G sold by one insurance company covers the exact same benefits as a Plan G sold by another. The only real differences between two versions of the same letter plan are the price, the company's customer service, and sometimes small extras.

This standardization applies in most states. (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have their own systems.) So when you shop in Oregon, comparing "Plan G to Plan G" is a fair, apples-to-apples comparison.

The Letters, in Plain English

There are 10 standardized Medigap plans available to new enrollees today: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Each letter offers a different mix of benefits.

• Plans A and B cover the basics, like Part B coinsurance and some hospital costs.
• Plans D, G, M, and N offer broader coverage. Plan G is one of the most comprehensive options available to people newly eligible for Medicare.
• Plans K and L have lower premiums but include out-of-pocket limits and cost-sharing.
• Plans C and F are only available if you became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Anyone who turned 65 after that date cannot buy them as a new enrollee.

The mix of benefits — Part A hospital coinsurance, skilled nursing coinsurance, foreign travel emergency, and so on — is set by Medicare itself. You can see the full benefits grid on medicare.gov.

The One Enrollment Window That Really Matters

Medigap has its own enrollment rules, and they are different from the fall Annual Enrollment Period most people hear about.

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During those six months, insurance companies must sell you any Medigap plan they offer at their best available rate, regardless of your health history.

Miss that window, and in most states insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can charge you more, or turn you down, based on your health. That's why this timing matters so much. If Medigap is on your radar, mark the start of your Part B coverage on the calendar.

How Medigap Fits With the Rest of Medicare

Medigap is one path. Medicare Advantage (Part C) is another. You cannot have both at the same time. Oregon City sits in Clackamas County, where residents typically have a wide range of Medicare Advantage plans and stand-alone Part D drug plans to choose from during the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7).

A few 2026 program figures worth knowing as you weigh your options:

• Part D out-of-pocket costs are now capped at $2,100 for the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap has been eliminated; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments if you'd rather smooth them out.
• IRMAA income-related surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

None of those figures are specific to Medigap, but they shape the full picture of what Medicare costs look like.