Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Oregon for 2026: the rules Portland shoppers should know before renewal season

Portland, Ore. — If you carry a Medigap policy or plan to buy one soon, this is the time of year to pay attention. Rate filings for 2026 are working their way through the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, the Part B deductible that Plans G and N are built around resets on January 1, and the plan letters available to newly eligible Oregonians remain slightly different from what an older neighbor may have.

Here is what Portland readers, most of whom live in Multnomah County, should know before the calendar turns.

What is (and isn't) changing about plan letters

The standardized Medigap plan letters have not been redesigned for 2026. For someone newly eligible for Medicare today, the plans you can buy in Oregon are A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N. Plans C and F are still sold, but only to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. That rule came out of the MACRA law and is not changing next year.

If you turned 65 years ago and already have a Plan F, you can keep it. If you are turning 65 in Portland this winter, Plan F is simply not on your menu — Plan G is the closest equivalent.

The Part B deductible reset — why it matters for Plans G and N

Plan G and Plan N are built around one out-of-pocket piece: the Part B deductible. Medigap does not cover it on those plans, so you pay it yourself before your supplement kicks in on outpatient services. That deductible resets every January 1 and is set by CMS, not by your insurer. Medicare.gov publishes the new amount each fall.

If your doctor visits tend to cluster in December, this is worth thinking about — a visit on December 30 and one on January 5 fall in two different deductible years.

Rate-adjustment season in Oregon

Medigap premiums in Oregon are filed with and reviewed by the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. Insurers can change rates at renewal, and the amount of any change depends on the carrier, the plan letter, your age band and the rating method the company uses.

Two practical steps for Portland readers:

1. Watch your mail in the weeks before your policy anniversary. Your renewal notice will show the new premium. 2. If it jumped more than you expected, you can compare other carriers offering the same plan letter. Because plan letters are standardized, a Plan G is a Plan G — the coverage is the same across insurers; the price and customer service are not.

You can look up filed rates at oregon.gov/dcbs and search Medigap policies by ZIP code at medicare.gov.

Insurers entering or leaving

Oregon does not publish a single fixed list of Medigap carriers the way it does for Medicare Advantage. Companies can enter or exit the market, and the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search is the most current place to see who is selling which plan letters in your ZIP code. If you get a letter saying your carrier is discontinuing a plan, call SHIBA (Oregon's SHIP) at 800-722-4134 before you sign anything — you may have guaranteed-issue rights in that situation.

Program-level figures worth knowing for 2026

Medigap sits alongside Original Medicare and, for most people, a Part D drug plan. A few 2026 numbers to keep in mind on the drug side:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") has been eliminated since 2025 — there are three payment phases now.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs into monthly payments if you choose.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Medigap itself does not have an annual enrollment window like Medicare Advantage does. The Advantage/Part D Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 through March 31 — those affect Part D and MA choices, not your supplement.