Medicare Supplement

What's changing for Medigap in Philadelphia for 2027: the rules, the reset, and rate season

Philadelphia — As 2027 approaches, Medicare shoppers in Philadelphia County are heading into the annual stretch when Medigap prices get refiled, the Part B deductible resets, and the rules about which plan letters you can even buy come back into focus. Nothing about Medigap moves on the same calendar as Medicare Advantage, but the fall and winter months are still when most of the changes that affect your premium — and your options — actually land.

Here is a plain-English look at what's shifting for Medigap in Philadelphia for the coming year, and how to check the pieces that depend on numbers Pennsylvania regulators haven't finalized yet.

Which Medigap plan letters you can buy in 2027

Medigap plans are standardized by letter across the country, so a Plan G in Philadelphia covers the same core benefits as a Plan G anywhere else in Pennsylvania. What differs is the premium and the company selling it.

If you are newly eligible for Medicare today, the plan letters open to you are:

• Plan A
• Plan B
• Plan D
• Plan G
• Plan G High-Deductible (G-HD)
• Plan K
• Plan L
• Plan M
• Plan N

Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. That rule is set by federal law and does not change for 2027. If you were eligible before that cutoff and never enrolled, you may still be able to buy C or F, but availability and pricing depend on the insurer.

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

Two of the most-discussed Medigap letters, Plan G and Plan N, are built around the Part B deductible. Plan G covers almost everything Original Medicare leaves behind except that annual Part B deductible; you pay it once each year, then the plan picks up your share of Part B costs. Plan N works similarly, with some small copays for office and emergency visits.

That deductible resets every January 1. CMS announces the new amount in the fall, and the 2027 figure will be published on medicare.gov once it is set. If you already have Plan G or N, the reset simply means you'll pay the new deductible amount the first time you use Part B services in 2027 before your Medigap benefits kick in for the year.

The high-deductible version of Plan G (G-HD) works differently — you pay out of pocket up to a separate, higher annual amount before the plan pays. That figure is also reset by CMS each year.

Rate-adjustment season in Pennsylvania

Unlike Medicare Advantage and Part D, Medigap premiums are not set on the Medicare calendar. Insurers file rate changes with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, and those changes can take effect at different points in the year depending on the company and the plan.

That means a Philadelphia resident with a Medigap policy might see a rate letter in the mail at almost any time — not just in the fall. If you receive one:

• Compare it against what other insurers charge for the same plan letter (a Plan G is a Plan G).
• Check whether your plan uses attained-age, issue-age, or community-rated pricing — Pennsylvania allows different methods, and they age differently.
• Remember that outside your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment Period (the six months starting when you're 65 and enrolled in Part B), insurers in Pennsylvania can generally use medical underwriting when you apply to switch.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department publishes a Medigap rate comparison guide that lists filed premiums by ZIP code and plan letter. That is the most reliable place to see what companies are currently charging in Philadelphia County.

Insurers entering or leaving the state

Medigap carriers can add or drop plan letters in Pennsylvania during the year, and new companies occasionally enter the market. There is no single "open enrollment" announcement for Medigap the way there is for Medicare Advantage, so the practical way to see who is selling what in your ZIP code is:

• Medicare.gov Medigap policy search — enter a Philadelphia ZIP code and it will return every company currently offering each plan letter, with sample premiums.
• Pennsylvania Insurance Department Medigap rate guide — published and updated by the state.
• APPRISE, Pennsylvania's SHIP — free one-on-one counseling for Medicare questions, including Medigap.

We are not listing carriers here because Medigap availability changes on the insurer's timeline, not the calendar year, and the Medicare.gov tool will always be more current than a static article.

How this fits with the rest of your Medicare in 2026 and 2027

Medigap only pays after Original Medicare, so a few program-level changes worth knowing about are actually on the Part D side:

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

None of those numbers change what Medigap does, but they can affect how you decide between a Medigap-plus-standalone-Part-D setup and a Medicare Advantage plan. The Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) is when Medicare Advantage and Part D changes happen; Medigap has its own timing.