Medicare Supplement

Shopping for Medigap in Corpus Christi? Here are the plan letters Texans can buy today

Medigap works differently from the rest of Medicare. In Corpus Christi, as in the rest of Texas, the policies themselves are standardized by the federal government — every "Plan G" pays for the same things, no matter which company sells it. What changes from insurer to insurer is the price and the service. That single fact shapes how a shopper on the Texas coast should approach the decision.

Here is what you can buy in Texas today, how these policies fit next to Original Medicare and a Part D drug plan, and where to go for the numbers that apply to you.

What Medigap is — and what it is not

Medigap, also called Medicare Supplement Insurance, is a private policy that pays some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind: things like the Part A hospital deductible, coinsurance for a long hospital stay, and the 20% you would otherwise owe under Part B.

It is not Medicare Advantage. Medigap does not replace Part A and Part B — it sits on top of them. You cannot use a Medigap policy alongside a Medicare Advantage plan, and Medigap by itself does not cover prescription drugs. Most people who choose Medigap also sign up for a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

The plan letters you can buy in Texas

Medigap policies are labeled by letter, and every policy with the same letter covers the same benefits nationwide (Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the three exceptions — Texas is not one of them). In Texas, someone new to Medicare today can shop from these standardized plans:

• 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 still exist, but federal law closed them to anyone who first became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy or keep one.

Because the benefits are set by federal rule, a Plan G from one company covers the same medical costs as a Plan G from another. The differences are premium, how the company prices policies as you age, customer service, and whether extras like a fitness benefit are thrown in.

How Medigap pairs with Original Medicare and Part D

The typical Corpus Christi setup looks like this:

• Part A and Part B (Original Medicare) pay the bulk of your hospital and doctor bills.
• A Medigap policy picks up much of what Parts A and B leave you owing.
• A stand-alone Part D plan covers your prescriptions.

That third piece matters more than ever in 2026. Part D now has a hard $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, the maximum plan deductible is $615, and the old coverage gap is gone — replaced by a simpler three-phase design. If monthly drug costs are hard to budget for, Medicare's optional Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread them out across the year.

One more note on income: higher-income enrollees pay IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D. Those surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

The Texas rules that shape your choice

The single most important shopping rule is federal, not state: your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. It is a one-time, 6-month window that begins the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During those six months, any insurer selling Medigap in Texas must sell you any policy they offer at their best available rate for your age, and cannot turn you down or charge you more because of your health.

Outside that window, and outside a handful of federal "guaranteed issue" situations, Texas insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can ask health questions and decline you or charge more. That is why timing matters so much on Medigap, and why switching later is not always as easy as it sounds.

Texas does not have some of the extra state-level switching rights you may have read about in other states (for example, California's and Oregon's "birthday rules"). For the most current state-specific protections, check with the Texas Department of Insurance or your local SHIP counselor before you assume you can freely switch.

You should also ask any insurer how they price the policy. Medigap can be priced by "issue age," "attained age," or "community rated," and that pricing method affects how your premium changes as you get older, even though the covered benefits do not.

How to find the insurers selling Medigap in Corpus Christi

Because the letters are standardized, comparing companies really comes down to comparing prices and service. There are three no-cost places to do that:

1. Medicare.gov has a Medigap policy search. Enter your Corpus Christi ZIP code and you will see every policy sold in your area, by letter, with each company's contact information. 2. The Texas Department of Insurance publishes a Medigap rate guide showing sample premiums by company and plan letter. 3. The Texas SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) offers free, unbiased counseling by phone or in person. Counselors will not sell you anything.

The table on this page lists more detail; use it as a starting point and then verify current prices with the sources above, since premiums change.

What to do before you sign anything

A few questions worth asking any Medigap agent or insurer:

• Which plan letter am I buying, and what does that letter cover?
• How is this policy priced — issue age, attained age, or community rated?
• What has your rate history looked like over the last several years?
• If I already have a Medigap policy, do I have a guaranteed-issue right to switch, or would I need to pass underwriting?

If the answers are not clear, that alone is useful information.