Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Knoxville: which plan letters Tennessee retirees can still buy

Medigap — also called Medicare Supplement Insurance — is a private policy that helps pay the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind, like the Part A hospital deductible, coinsurance, and some Part B cost sharing. It is sold by private insurers but standardized by the federal government, so a "Plan G" from one company covers the same medical costs as a "Plan G" from another.

What Medigap is, in plain English

Knoxville is in Knox County, and the plan letters available there are set by federal and Tennessee state rules, not by city. So a shopper in Bearden, Farragut, or downtown Knoxville sees the same standardized menu as anyone else in the state.

Which plan letters you can buy in Tennessee

Medigap uses letters to name each standardized plan. In Tennessee today, people newly eligible for Medicare can choose from:

• Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N.

Two letters — Plan C and Plan F — are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them. That cutoff is federal law and applies in every state that uses the standard lettering (Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin standardize differently).

The "HD" in Plan G-HD stands for "high-deductible." It works like the regular Plan G but you pay a yearly deductible before the plan starts paying its share.

How Medigap fits with Original Medicare and Part D

Medigap only pairs with Original Medicare — Parts A and B. It does not work with a Medicare Advantage plan, and in most cases it is illegal for someone to sell you a Medigap policy if you are enrolled in Advantage.

Medigap also does not include prescription drug coverage. If you want help paying for your medications, you enroll separately in a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan. A few 2026 Part D facts worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" is gone as of 2025; the benefit now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly bills instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy.
• IRMAA surcharges — extra amounts higher-income enrollees pay for Part B and Part D — start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

When you can buy, and why timing matters in Tennessee

The single most important rule in Medigap is the Medigap Open Enrollment Period. It starts the first month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B, and it lasts six months. During that window, an insurer in Tennessee must sell you any Medigap policy it offers, at its best available rate class, regardless of your health history.

Outside that six-month window, Tennessee follows federal law: insurers can use medical underwriting, which means they can look at your health and decide whether to sell you a policy and at what price — unless you have a separate guaranteed-issue right, such as losing other coverage involuntarily.

Tennessee does not have a statewide "birthday rule" like a few other states, so switching later in retirement is possible but not automatic. For a current read on state-specific rights, contact the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance or the state's SHIP program (called TN SHIP), which offers free one-on-one Medicare counseling.

Two other dates worth writing down, even though they are not Medigap-specific:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7 (for Part D and Medicare Advantage).
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31.

Who sells Medigap in Tennessee

Many private insurers sell Medigap policies in Tennessee. The table below lists every insurer available in the state and the standardized letters each one offers. A few names Knoxville shoppers may recognize include BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Farm Bureau Health Plans, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Mutual of Omaha (Omaha Supplemental Insurance Company), Humana (Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois, Inc.), and AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company.

Not every company sells every letter. For example, some insurers focus on Plans A, F, G and N; others also offer high-deductible versions or Plans K, L, or M. Because the benefits inside a given letter are identical by law, the practical differences between two "Plan G" policies come down to price, rate history, customer service and each company's underwriting practices.

How to think about the choice

Since the federal government sets what each letter covers, most Knoxville shoppers walk through a two-step decision:

1. Pick a letter that fits your budget and how you use care. Plans that cover more upfront tend to cost more in premium; plans like N, K, L or the high-deductible versions leave you paying more when you use services but usually come with a lower monthly premium. 2. Then compare insurers offering that letter. Look at the premium, the company's rate-increase history in Tennessee, whether they offer any household discounts, and how they handle underwriting if you ever want to switch.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance publishes a Medigap rate guide that lists premiums by company and ZIP code — a useful starting point for anyone in Knox County. Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search does the same nationally.