Medicare Supplement

Medigap Explained for Murray, Utah Medicare Shoppers

MURRAY, Utah — If you've spent any time comparing Medicare choices, you've probably seen references to "Plan G," "Plan N," or "Plan K" and wondered what the letters mean. Those letters are Medicare Supplement Insurance — often called Medigap — and they work differently from Medicare Advantage. Here's a plain-language look at what Medigap does, what it doesn't, and how the standardized letter plans are set up.

What Medigap is (and what it isn't)

Medigap is private insurance you can buy to help pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and some deductibles. It works alongside Original Medicare, not instead of it. Medicare pays its share first, then your Medigap policy pays its share.

A few important things Medigap is not:

• It is not the same as Medicare Advantage (Part C). You generally can't have both at the same time.
• It does not include prescription drug coverage. If you want drug coverage, you'd add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• It usually does not cover routine dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term custodial care.

How the "letter plans" work

Here's the part that trips people up: Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. In most states, including Utah, the plans are labeled by letters — currently A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.)

Standardized means that Plan G from one insurer covers the exact same benefits as Plan G from another insurer. The company, customer service, and price can differ — but the covered benefits under a given letter do not. That's meant to make apples-to-apples comparisons easier.

Each letter covers a different mix of the "gaps," such as:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and hospital costs after Medicare benefits end
• Part B coinsurance or copayments
• The first three pints of blood each year
• Part A hospice coinsurance
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance (on some letters)
• Part A deductible (on some letters)
• Foreign travel emergency care (on some letters)

Plans K and L work a little differently — they cover a percentage of certain costs and include an annual out-of-pocket limit, after which they pay 100% of covered services for the rest of the year.

The local picture in Murray

Murray sits in Salt Lake County, and Medigap availability in Utah is regulated at the state level. Utah residents generally have access to multiple insurance companies offering the standardized letter plans, and prices for the same letter can vary meaningfully from one company to the next. Because the benefits are identical within a letter, shopping is mostly about price, the insurer's reputation, and how they handle rate increases over time.

The Utah Insurance Department publishes a Medicare Supplement premium comparison that Murray residents can use to see current rates.

When you can buy Medigap matters a lot

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurers must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate, and they can't turn you down or charge more because of your health.

Outside that window, in most states insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can look at your health history and either deny coverage or charge more. Utah does have some limited protections, but the six-month window is by far the strongest opportunity.

Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage — a quick note

This isn't a "which is better" question — it's about how you want your coverage to work. Medigap pairs with Original Medicare and a separate Part D drug plan; Medicare Advantage bundles everything into one plan through a private insurer, often with a network. Each has trade-offs around cost structure, network flexibility, and extras. A local SHIP counselor can walk through both, at no cost, without trying to sell you anything.

A few 2026 Medicare facts worth knowing

Even if you go the Medigap route, these program-level numbers affect the drug plan you'd pair with it:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap has been eliminated as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying all at once at the pharmacy.
• IRMAA income-based surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.
• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7 (for Part D and Medicare Advantage changes).