Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Dallas: the plan letters Texans can still buy, and how to shop them

DALLAS — If you have Original Medicare and you're looking at a Medicare Supplement policy, the first thing to know is that Medigap is federally standardized. That means a Plan G sold in Dallas covers the same gaps in Medicare as a Plan G sold anywhere else in Texas. What changes from company to company is the price and the customer service — not the benefits inside each lettered plan.

Here's what people newly eligible for Medicare in Dallas County can actually buy today, how these policies fit alongside Part B and a Part D drug plan, and where to check rates for your ZIP code.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medigap is private insurance that helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind, like coinsurance, copayments and (in some letters) the Part A or Part B deductible. It pays after Medicare pays.

A Medigap policy is not the same as a Medicare Advantage plan. You can't have both at once. Medigap sits on top of Original Medicare; Medicare Advantage replaces how you get your Part A and Part B benefits.

Medigap also doesn't cover prescription drugs. If you want drug coverage, you pair Medigap with a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan.

The plan letters you can buy in Texas

Texas follows the federal standardization rules (unlike Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which have their own systems). If you are newly eligible for Medicare today, these are the plan letters available:

• Plan A
• Plan B
• Plan D
• Plan G
• High-deductible Plan G
• Plan K
• Plan L
• Plan M
• Plan N

Plans C and F are closed to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, because those plans covered the Part B deductible and federal law no longer allows new sales of first-dollar coverage plans. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy C or F.

Each letter covers a defined set of benefits. Plan G, for example, tends to be the most comprehensive option available to newly eligible enrollees. Plan N has lower premiums but small copays for some visits. Plans K and L cap your out-of-pocket costs but pay a percentage of certain benefits rather than 100%. Which letter fits depends on how you want to trade premium for predictability — a conversation worth having with an unbiased counselor.

How Medigap pairs with Part D

Because Medigap policies sold today don't include drug coverage, a typical setup in Dallas looks like this:

1. Part A and Part B (Original Medicare) — your base coverage. 2. A Medigap policy — helps pay the deductibles and coinsurance Original Medicare leaves you owing. 3. A stand-alone Part D plan — covers prescription drugs.

For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap and a maximum deductible of $615. The old coverage gap ("donut hole") has been gone since 2025, so Part D now has three phases instead of four. If your drug costs are high, you can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads your Part D out-of-pocket costs across the calendar year in monthly bills.

Higher-income enrollees pay an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D; for 2026, IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Timing: your Medigap open enrollment window matters

The single most important rule in Medigap shopping isn't a Texas rule — it's a federal one. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is the six months that start the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate for your age, regardless of your health history.

Outside that window, in most cases insurers in Texas can medical-underwrite — meaning they can look at your health and charge more, or decline to sell you a policy — unless you have a federal guaranteed-issue right (for example, if your Medicare Advantage plan leaves your area).

Texas may offer additional protections beyond federal law. Because those rules can change, check with the Texas Department of Insurance or your local SHIP counselor before assuming you can switch freely later.

How prices are set — and why the same letter costs different amounts

Every insurer selling a Plan G in Dallas covers the same benefits, but each one is free to price it differently. Insurers typically use one of three pricing methods:

• Community-rated — everyone pays the same premium regardless of age.
• Issue-age-rated — your premium is based on the age you were when you bought it.
• Attained-age-rated — your premium goes up as you get older.

Two policies with identical benefits can look very different a decade from now depending on which method was used. The Texas Department of Insurance publishes a Medigap rate guide that explains these methods and shows sample rates.

How to shop Medigap in Dallas County

There is no single insurer list on this page because Medigap availability in Texas varies by carrier and ZIP code. The most reliable ways to see what's actually offered where you live:

• Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search — enter your Dallas ZIP code and it lists policies available to you.
• Texas Department of Insurance Medigap rate guide — an independent, state-published comparison of premiums by company.
• Texas SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) — free, one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who don't sell policies.
• 1-800-MEDICARE — for questions about your specific situation.

When you compare, hold the letter constant. Compare a Plan G to a Plan G, a Plan N to a Plan N. That's the only apples-to-apples way to shop.