Medicare Supplement

Are You Newly Eligible? Medigap Rules for Irving

IRVING, Texas — If you have a Medigap policy in Irving, or you are shopping for one heading into 2026, a handful of moving parts deserve your attention this season: which standardized plan letters you can still buy, how the yearly reset of the Part B deductible flows through Plans G and N, when insurers file new rates with the state, and which companies are actively selling Medigap in Texas.

None of those pieces are secret, but they rarely land in one place. Here is a plain-English walk-through for readers in Dallas County.

What is (and isn't) changing about plan letters

The standardized Medigap plan letters themselves are set by federal rules, and the big shift already happened a few years ago: Plans C and F — the two that covered the Part B deductible — closed to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.

If you were eligible before that date, you can still buy or keep C or F. If you are newly eligible today, your menu is Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M, and N. That rule is not changing for 2026. What changes year to year is which of those letters each insurer chooses to sell in Texas, which is why comparing carriers matters even when the letters look identical.

The Part B deductible reset — why Plans G and N feel different in January

Plans G and N are built around the Part B deductible. Both plans start paying their share only after you have met that deductible for the year. Every January 1, that deductible resets to zero, and you begin working through it again on your outpatient visits, lab work, and doctor bills.

That means your first few Medicare statements of the new year often show more out-of-pocket cost than the ones you got in November or December. Nothing is wrong with your policy — it is doing what Plans G and N are designed to do. Once the deductible is met, the plan picks back up according to its standardized benefits. (Plan N also has its own small copays for some office and emergency room visits, which do not change with the calendar.)

If you want to know the exact 2026 Part B deductible amount, medicare.gov posts it each fall alongside the other Medicare cost figures.

Rate-adjustment season: how Texas premiums get set

Medigap premiums are not the same across insurers, and Medicare itself does not set them. In Texas, companies file proposed rates with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Filings typically happen ahead of the plan year and, when approved, take effect on schedules the insurer chooses (often on your policy anniversary rather than January 1).

A few practical points for Irving readers:

• Two people with the exact same Plan G, from two different carriers, can pay very different premiums — because the benefits are standardized but the pricing is not.
• Rate methods vary (community-rated, issue-age, or attained-age), and that affects how your premium changes as you get older.
• You can look up rate filings on the TDI website, and Texas SHIP counselors can walk you through what a filing means for your policy.

Ask any insurer, before you enroll, how they set rates and how often they adjust them. That question tells you more about your long-term cost than the first-year quote does.

Who sells Medigap in Texas right now

Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search lists the insurers currently selling standardized plans in Texas. That roster shifts occasionally as companies enter or leave the market or add and drop plan letters. Rather than reprint the whole list here, the table below shows every insurer and the plan letters each offers — from AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company through Woodmen Of The World Life Insurance Society and WoodmenLife.

A few things worth noticing when you scan it:

• Plan G and Plan N are the two most widely offered letters across Texas carriers.
• High-deductible versions (G-HD and, at some carriers, F-HD) show up at a smaller group of insurers.
• Plans C, D, and M are offered by only a handful of companies, and — as noted above — C and F are limited to people who were eligible before 2020.

How to decide, step by step

1. Confirm your eligibility date. If you first became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, C and F are still on the table for you; if not, focus on A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M, and N. 2. Pick the letter first, then the carrier. Because the benefits inside each letter are federally standardized, comparing "Plan G to Plan G" across carriers is a fair comparison. 3. Ask about the rating method and recent rate history. This is where TDI filings and a SHIP counselor can help. 4. Check your medical underwriting status. Outside of your one-time six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period (starting when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B), insurers in Texas can generally use health underwriting. Timing matters. 5. Recheck once a year. Rate season is a good annual prompt to see whether your current policy still fits.