Medicare Supplement

Before you renew Medigap in Salem: what to check

SALEM, Ore. — If you have a Medigap policy in Marion County, or you are shopping for one this fall, a handful of moving parts are worth knowing before the calendar flips to 2026. None of them are dramatic on their own, but together they shape what you can buy, what your policy will pay, and how your premium may change.

Medigap — also called Medicare Supplement Insurance — is the private policy that sits behind Original Medicare and helps cover the deductibles and coinsurance Medicare itself does not. In Oregon, the state insurance department reviews the rates insurers file each year, and the federal government sets the ground rules for which lettered plans you can buy.

Here is what Salem readers should have on their radar for the coming year.

The plan-letter rules have not changed, but they still trip people up

If you are turning 65 in Salem next year, or you are moving to Medicare from an employer plan, the lettered plans you can choose from are A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N. Plans C and F are closed to anyone who first became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 — that rule has been in place since the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) took effect, and it is not going away in 2026.

Why does that matter? Because Plans C and F both cover the Part B deductible, and Congress decided newer enrollees should pay that deductible directly. If you were already eligible before 2020, you can still keep or buy C or F. Everyone else looks at G, N or one of the other letters.

The Part B deductible resets every January — and Plans G and N are built around it

Two of the most-purchased Medigap letters, G and N, work the same way at every insurer that sells them: they cover almost everything Original Medicare leaves behind, except the annual Part B deductible. You pay that deductible once each calendar year before your Medigap starts filling in the gaps.

That deductible resets every January 1. CMS publishes the new figure each fall — the current year's amount is posted on medicare.gov under Medicare costs. If you had already met the deductible in 2025, that credit does not carry over; you start fresh in 2026.

Plan N works the same way on the deductible, and also asks for small copays at some office and emergency-room visits. Plan G does not have those copays. That is the core difference in the letter — not the insurer.

Rate-adjustment season: how to check what your insurer filed

Medigap premiums are not fixed by Medicare. Each insurer files proposed rates with the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR), which reviews them before they take effect. Filings usually land in late summer and early fall for policies renewing the following year.

You can look up your carrier's filing on the DFR's rate-review site (dfr.oregon.gov) or by calling the Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance program, Oregon's SHIP, at 1-800-722-4134. SHIP counselors are free and do not sell insurance.

A few things to know as you compare:

• In Oregon, Medigap is generally sold on an "attained-age" basis, meaning your premium can go up as you get older, on top of any across-the-board rate change.
• If you already have a policy, switching carriers outside your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment window usually means answering health questions (medical underwriting), and you can be turned down. Oregon does have a "birthday rule" that gives you a limited window each year to switch to an equal or lesser plan without underwriting — SHIP can walk you through the rules.
• Rate changes vary by insurer and by plan letter, so a filing you read about in the news may or may not apply to your policy.

Which insurers sell Medigap in Oregon

Sixteen carriers currently sell standardized Medigap policies to Oregon residents. In alphabetical order, they are: AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, AFLAC, Bankers Life (Underwritten by Washington National Insurance Company), Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood, Tennessee (Aetna), Everence Association Inc., GPM Health and Life Insurance Company, Humana (Humana Insurance Company), Medco Containment Life Insurance Company, Moda Health Plan, Inc., Mutual of Omaha (United World Life Insurance Company), Providence Health Assurance, Regence Blue Cross BlueShield of Oregon, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, United American Insurance Company, USAA Life Insurance Company and WoodmenLife.

The table below lists every plan letter each carrier offers. Because Medigap letters are standardized by federal law, a Plan G from one insurer covers the same medical services as a Plan G from another — the difference is the premium, the customer service, and any household or wellness extras the carrier adds. Salem is in Marion County; the same insurers file for the entire state.

What is not a Medigap change, even if it looks like one

A lot of the 2026 headlines you will see are about Part D drug plans, not Medigap. The $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on Part D drug costs, the $615 maximum Part D deductible, the elimination of the old "donut hole," and the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you smooth drug costs across the year are all Part D rules. Medigap does not cover outpatient prescription drugs, so those changes do not touch your supplement.

Likewise, IRMAA — the income-related surcharge that begins above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026 — is added to your Part B and Part D premiums, not to your Medigap premium.

The Annual Enrollment Period from October 15 to December 7, and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, are for Medicare Advantage and Part D. Medigap has its own enrollment rules, centered on your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period that starts when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B.