Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Pittsburgh: the plan letters Pennsylvania lets you buy today

Pittsburgh, Pa. — If you have Original Medicare and you're trying to make sense of Medicare Supplement Insurance — usually called Medigap — the first thing to know is that the choices come from a short list of standardized plans named by letters. In Pennsylvania, most of those letters are on the table, but two of them are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before 2020. Here is how the menu looks for someone shopping in Allegheny County today, and where to go for the details that depend on your ZIP code.

Medicare SupplementPittsburgh, PA

What Medigap is, and what it isn't

Medigap is private insurance that helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copays, and some deductibles. It pairs with Original Medicare only. If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you cannot also use a Medigap policy.

Medigap also does not cover prescription drugs. To get drug coverage, you add a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan.

The plan letters you can buy in Pennsylvania

Medigap is federally standardized in Pennsylvania (as it is in every state except Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). That means Plan G from one company covers the same medical benefits as Plan G from another. The difference between insurers is price, customer service, and how they set future rate increases — not the benefits inside the letter.

For someone newly eligible for Medicare, Pennsylvania offers:

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

Plans C and F are still sold, but only to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If that's you, and you've held off on enrolling, you may still qualify.

The table below lists every letter available in Pittsburgh's ZIP codes so you can compare them side by side.

How the letters differ, in plain terms

Every Medigap letter covers a fixed set of benefits under federal rules. In general:

• Plans A and B cover the basics.
• Plans G and N are the most popular among newer enrollees because they cover the most, other than the Part B deductible.
• Plan G-HD has a lower premium in exchange for a higher deductible before benefits kick in.
• Plans K and L cover a percentage of certain costs and have a yearly out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan M and Plan N handle certain deductibles and copays differently.

The Medicare.gov Medigap policy search shows the benefit grid for each letter so you can compare what's included before you look at prices.

Pairing Medigap with Part D in 2026

Because Medigap doesn't include drug coverage, most people with a Medigap policy also enroll in a stand-alone Part D plan. A few 2026 program-level facts worth knowing:

• Part D has a new $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs.
• The Part D deductible can be no higher than $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments, at no extra cost.
• Income-related monthly adjustment amounts (IRMAA) begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026, and can add to both Part B and Part D premiums.

The Annual Enrollment Period for Part D runs October 15 through December 7 each year.

The Pennsylvania rules that shape your choice

Federal law gives you a Medigap Open Enrollment Period: a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, any insurer selling Medigap in Pennsylvania must sell you any plan letter they offer, at their best available rate, regardless of your health.

Outside that window — for example, if you want to switch letters or switch insurers later — insurers in Pennsylvania can generally use medical underwriting, which means they can ask about your health and can decline or price you differently. There are limited federal guaranteed-issue situations (for example, if a plan ends or you lose other coverage) that let you buy certain letters without underwriting.

Pennsylvania does not have a statewide "birthday rule" like some states, but the specifics of guaranteed-issue rights and how insurers price policies (issue-age, attained-age, or community-rated) can change. For the current rules that apply to you, contact the Pennsylvania Insurance Department or APPRISE, Pennsylvania's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which offers free, unbiased counseling.

How to shop for a specific quote in Pittsburgh

There is no single public list of every insurer selling Medigap in Allegheny County, and pricing is individual, so the fastest path is:

1. Use the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search with your Pittsburgh ZIP code to see which insurers offer which letters near you. 2. Check the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's Medigap rate guide for a general sense of the market. 3. Call APPRISE, Pennsylvania's SHIP, for free one-on-one help comparing options. 4. Call 1-800-MEDICARE with questions about your Original Medicare coverage.