Medicare Supplement

Newly eligible in Salt Lake City? Your Medigap menu shrank

SALT LAKE CITY — As 2026 approaches, Medicare shoppers along the Wasatch Front are asking the same practical question: what actually changes for Medigap next year, and what stays the same? The short answer is that the standardized plan letters still work the way they did, but a few moving pieces — who qualifies for which plan, the yearly reset of the Part B deductible that Plans G and N are built around, and the rate filings insurers submit to the state — deserve a fresh look before you shop or switch.

The plan-letter rules have not changed — but who can buy what still trips people up

Medigap plans are standardized by letter, meaning a Plan G from one insurer covers the same gaps in Original Medicare as a Plan G from another. What changes between companies is price, customer service and, sometimes, extras like discount programs.

The eligibility rule that still confuses new enrollees: Plans C and F are only for sale to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If you are newly eligible today, your menu is Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD (high-deductible G), K, L, M and N.

That is why most new Salt Lake City enrollees end up comparing Plan G, high-deductible G, or Plan N — those are the letters most insurers actively sell to newcomers.

The Part B deductible resets every January — and that matters for Plans G and N

Plans G and N are designed to pay their share after you meet the Medicare Part B deductible each calendar year. Every January 1, that deductible resets to zero for everyone on Original Medicare, and you pay it again before your Medigap picks up its portion.

High-deductible Plan G works the same way, except you pay a much larger annual amount out of pocket before coverage kicks in. None of this is a change in the rules — it is simply the annual cycle you should plan around, especially if you have a procedure scheduled in the first weeks of the year.

For the exact 2026 Part B deductible figure, check Medicare.gov or the annual notice CMS releases each fall.

Rate-adjustment season: how Utah premiums get set

Medigap premiums are not set by Medicare. In Utah, insurers file proposed rates with the Utah Insurance Department, and those filings are the reason your renewal notice may show a different premium than last year. Rate changes can reflect medical inflation, the age mix of the insurer's Utah book of business, and how the company prices by age (issue-age, attained-age, or community-rated).

Two practical steps before you renew:

• Pull up your policy's current premium and compare it to what the same lettered plan costs from other Utah insurers on Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search.
• If you see a jump, call the Utah SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) for a free, unbiased walk-through of your options.

Switching Medigap plans outside your initial open enrollment window generally means answering health questions (medical underwriting), so a lower advertised premium is not always a plan you can move to. That is worth knowing before you shop.

Insurers in the Salt Lake City market

Salt Lake City is in Salt Lake County, where the Medicare.gov search listed 23 insurers offering Medigap plans across letters A, B, C, D, F, F-HD, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N. The table below lists every insurer and the plan letters each one sells in Utah, in alphabetical order.

Availability at the carrier level does shift from year to year — companies occasionally add a plan letter, retire one, or stop writing new Medigap business in a state. If a specific company matters to you (for example, because a spouse is already enrolled with them), confirm current availability directly on Medicare.gov or by calling the insurer before you apply.

What is not changing

A few things that get asked about every fall but are not new for 2026:

• Medigap only works with Original Medicare, not with Medicare Advantage.
• Your one guaranteed-issue window for Medigap is the six months that begin when you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. Outside that window, most Utah applications go through medical underwriting.
• Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage. You add a stand-alone Part D plan for that. For 2026, Part D carries a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap and a maximum deductible of $615, and the coverage gap has been eliminated (three phases now). The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year.
• IRMAA surcharges for higher-income enrollees begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.