Medicare Supplement

Why Medigap letters are identical by law in Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — If you've spent any time comparing Medicare options, you've probably run into a wall of letters: Plan A, Plan G, Plan N, and more. Those letters belong to Medicare Supplement insurance, also called Medigap — and understanding how they work can make Original Medicare feel a lot less unpredictable.

Medigap policies are sold by private insurance companies to fill in some of the costs Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) leaves behind, like coinsurance, copayments, and certain deductibles. The plans are standardized by letter, which means a Plan G sold by one company covers the same core benefits as a Plan G sold by another. The price and customer service can differ, but the benefits inside each letter do not.

What Medigap actually does

Original Medicare pays a large share of your hospital and doctor bills, but not all of it. You're still on the hook for things like the Part A hospital deductible, the 20% Part B coinsurance on most doctor visits, and daily copays for longer hospital or skilled nursing stays. There's also no yearly cap on what you might owe under Original Medicare alone.

A Medigap policy steps in to cover some or all of those leftover costs, depending on which lettered plan you choose. That's why many people on Original Medicare add a Medigap plan — it helps make their year-to-year health spending more predictable.

How the standardized letters work

In most states, including Virginia, Medigap plans come in 10 standardized versions: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their plans differently.)

Here's the key idea: the letter tells you what's covered. For example, every Plan G sold in Virginia covers the same set of benefits, whether you buy it from a national insurer or a smaller regional company. What can differ between companies is the monthly premium, how they set rates over time, and the service you get.

A few points worth knowing:

• 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, you generally can't buy them.
• Plans K and L have lower premiums but require you to pay a share of costs until you hit an annual out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan N has some copays for office and emergency room visits but tends to have a lower premium than Plan G.

You can compare the benefits chart plan-by-plan on Medicare.gov.

What Medigap does not cover

Medigap is designed to fill gaps in Original Medicare — not to be a full health plan on its own. It generally does not cover:

• Prescription drugs. You'll want a separate Medicare Part D plan for that. In 2026, Part D has an out-of-pocket cap of $2,100, a maximum deductible of $615, and no more coverage gap ("donut hole"). An optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year.
• Routine dental, vision, and hearing care.
• Long-term care, like extended nursing home stays.
• Private-duty nursing.

Medigap also cannot be used with a Medicare Advantage plan. You choose one path or the other: Original Medicare (often with Medigap and Part D) or Medicare Advantage.

Timing matters more than most people realize

The single most important date for Medigap shoppers is the start of your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — a one-time, six-month window that begins the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers must sell you any Medigap plan they offer at their best available rate, regardless of your health history.

Outside that window, in most cases, insurance companies can use medical underwriting. That means they can charge more or turn you down based on pre-existing conditions. There are some limited protections ("guaranteed issue rights") in specific situations, but the six-month window is by far the most forgiving time to buy.

This is different from the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7), which is for Medicare Advantage and Part D — not Medigap. Medigap doesn't follow that calendar.

What this looks like in Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg is in Fredericksburg City, where Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. Medigap is sold statewide by private carriers licensed in Virginia, so residents typically have several companies to compare for any given letter plan. Because benefits within a letter are identical, the shopping work is really about comparing premiums, rate history, and customer service.

For personalized help, Virginia's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — known locally as the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) — offers free, unbiased counseling.