Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Garland: how Texas standardizes the letters, and what that means for you

Garland, Texas — If you are turning 65 in Garland or thinking about moving from a Medicare Advantage plan back to Original Medicare, you have probably run into a wall of letters: Plan A, Plan G, Plan N, Plan G-HD. Those letters are not marketing. They are federal categories that shape exactly what a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy has to cover — no matter which insurance company sells it to you here in Dallas County.

Medicare SupplementGarland, TX

That is the piece most shoppers miss. In Texas, the benefits inside each lettered plan are set by federal rule. What changes from company to company is the price and the service, not the coverage inside the letter.

How the lettered plans work in Texas

Texas follows the federal Medigap system (unlike Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which standardize differently). That means every insurer selling a "Plan G" in Garland must include the same core benefits inside Plan G. Same for Plan N, Plan K, and the rest.

What is not standardized:

• The monthly premium.
• How the company sets rates (by age at issue, by attained age, or community-rated).
• Customer service, billing, and how rate changes are handled over time.

Two Plan G policies in Dallas County are the same policy in terms of what they pay. They are not the same product in terms of what they cost or how those costs move as you age.

Which letters you can still buy

People newly eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 can choose from:

• Plan A — the most basic set of Medigap benefits.
• Plan B — Plan A plus the Part A hospital deductible.
• Plan D — broader coverage but no Part B deductible or excess charges.
• Plan G — the most comprehensive plan open to new enrollees.
• Plan G-HD (high-deductible G) — same coverage as Plan G, but you pay a yearly deductible first.
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans with out-of-pocket limits.
• Plan M — splits the Part A deductible.
• Plan N — similar to G, with small copays for some office and ER visits.

Plans C and F are closed to anyone who became Medicare-eligible on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible before that date, you may still be able to buy them.

How Medigap fits with Original Medicare and Part D

Medigap is a companion to Original Medicare (Parts A and B). It helps pay some of what Original Medicare leaves behind — coinsurance, copays, and certain deductibles, depending on the letter.

A few things Medigap does not do:

• It does not work with Medicare Advantage. You cannot use both.
• It does not include prescription drug coverage. For that, you sign up for a stand-alone Part D plan.
• It does not cover most dental, vision or hearing care.

For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap and a maximum deductible of $615. The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now works in three phases. If your drug costs are uneven month to month, you can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads what you owe across the calendar year.

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

The state rules that shape the choice

Texas does not add a broad "birthday rule" or annual guaranteed-issue window the way a few other states do. That makes one federal window especially important:

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is the 6 months that begin the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurers in Texas must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate for your age, and they cannot turn you down or charge more because of your health.

Outside that window — and outside the limited federal "guaranteed issue" situations, such as certain plan terminations or moves — Texas insurers can generally use medical underwriting. That means health questions, and sometimes a "no."

If you are unsure whether a special right applies to your situation, call the Texas Department of Insurance or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which is free.

Shopping the roster in Dallas County

Because the benefits inside each letter are fixed, the practical shopping question in Garland becomes: which insurers sell the letter I want, and how do they price it for someone my age?

The table below lists every insurer approved to sell Medigap in Texas and which lettered plans each one offers. You will see familiar names — AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, Aetna Health Insurance Company, BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, Humana (Emphesys Insurance Company), Mutual of Omaha, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Texas Farm Bureau Health Plans, USAA Life Insurance Company — alongside smaller carriers. Not every company sells every letter; for example, some sell only A, F, G, and N, while others include the high-deductible G option or Plan K and L.

A few questions worth asking before you sign anything:

• Which lettered plan actually fits how I use care?
• How does this company set its rates — by age at issue, attained age, or community rating?
• What is the company's history of rate changes in Texas?
• If I need to switch later, will I have to answer health questions?

Nobody at MyMedicarePlans.org can tell you which plan or carrier is "best" for you, and neither can anyone else — that answer depends on your health, your budget, and the trade-offs you are willing to make.