Medicare Supplement

What Medicare Supplement insurance covers for Midland households

MIDLAND, Texas — If you're new to Medicare or helping a parent sort through the mail piling up on the kitchen table, you've probably seen the word "Medigap." It sounds like insurance jargon, and in a way it is — but the idea behind it is simple. Medigap, also called Medicare Supplement insurance, helps pay some of the costs Original Medicare leaves behind.

Here's a plain-English guide to what Medigap does, what those letter names (Plan G, Plan N, and so on) actually mean, and the mistakes that trip people up.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medigap is a private insurance policy you buy on top of Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It doesn't replace Medicare. Instead, it pays after Medicare pays, picking up costs like coinsurance, copays, and deductibles that would otherwise come out of your pocket.

A few things Medigap does not do, according to Medicare.gov:

• It does not include prescription drug coverage. For that, you'd add a separate Part D plan.
• It does not work with Medicare Advantage. You pick one lane or the other — Original Medicare with a Medigap policy, or a Medicare Advantage plan.
• It usually does not cover dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term care.

Midland is in Midland County, and like everywhere in Texas, Medigap policies here are sold by private insurance companies but follow rules set by the federal government and the Texas Department of Insurance.

The standardized letters, decoded

This is the part that confuses almost everyone. Medigap policies come in standardized plans labeled with letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have their own systems.)

"Standardized" means the benefits inside each letter are set by law. A Plan G from one company covers the exact same things as a Plan G from another company. What can differ is the price and the customer service.

A few key points:

• Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If you turned 65 after that date, those two are off the table.
• Plan G has become the most common pick for newer enrollees because it covers nearly everything except the Part B deductible.
• Plan N typically has a lower premium but asks you to pay small copays for some office and emergency room visits.
• Plans K and L have lower premiums in exchange for cost-sharing and an annual out-of-pocket limit.

The best way to compare is side by side. Medicare.gov has a free plan finder that lists every Medigap policy sold in your ZIP code.

The enrollment window that matters most

Here's the mistake that costs people the most money: missing your Medigap Open Enrollment Period.

This is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurance companies must sell you any Medigap plan they offer at their best available rate, and they can't turn you down or charge you more because of health conditions.

Outside that window, in most states — including Texas — insurers can use medical underwriting. That means they can ask about your health, charge you more, or deny coverage altogether. There are a few limited "guaranteed issue" situations, but they're narrow.

If you're approaching 65 in Midland, mark that six-month window on the calendar. It doesn't come back.

How Medigap fits with Part D and the new $2,100 cap

Because Medigap doesn't include drug coverage, most people who choose it also enroll in a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.

There's good news on the drug side for 2026:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100. Once your covered drug spending hits that amount, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three simpler phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.

Higher-income enrollees should also know about IRMAA — an income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums that kicks in above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming Medigap and Medicare Advantage are the same thing. They're two different roads. You can only be on one at a time.
• Waiting too long. Once your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment window closes, your options can shrink dramatically.
• Shopping on price alone. Since benefits within a letter are identical, price matters — but so does the company's history of rate increases. Ask.
• Forgetting drug coverage. Medigap doesn't include Part D. Skipping Part D when you first become eligible can mean a lifetime late-enrollment penalty.
• Confusing Medigap enrollment with the fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7). AEP is for Part D and Medicare Advantage. Medigap has its own rules and can be applied for any time of year — you just may face underwriting.