Medicare Supplement

Why Your Newport News Medigap Bill Shifts Each January

Newport News, Va. — If you have a Medigap policy in Newport News, or you are shopping for one this fall, a few moving parts reset every year. The plan letters you can buy depend on when you first became eligible for Medicare. The Part B deductible that sits underneath Plans G and N gets a new number each January. And insurers refile their rates with Virginia regulators on their own schedules. None of that is dramatic on its own, but together it shapes what your coverage looks like in 2026.

Medicare SupplementNewport News, VA

Which plan letters you can still buy

Medigap plans are standardized by letter, which means a Plan G from one company covers the same Medicare-approved services as a Plan G from another. What differs is the price, the customer service and the company behind it.

If you became eligible for Medicare on or after Jan. 1, 2020, you can buy Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD (a high-deductible version of G), K, L, M or N. Plans C and F — the ones that covered the Part B deductible — are closed to newer enrollees under federal law. If you were eligible before that date, you can still buy or keep C or F if a Virginia insurer offers them.

The table below lists every insurer selling Medigap in Virginia and which plan letters each one offers. That is the practical starting point for a Newport News shopper: see which companies sell the letter you want, then compare.

The Part B deductible reset — and why it matters for G and N

Plans G and N are the most common choices for people new to Medicare, and both are built around the Part B deductible. With Plan G, you pay that deductible each year, and the plan picks up the Part B coinsurance after that. Plan N works similarly, with some office-visit and emergency-room copays.

Medicare sets a new Part B deductible every January. Once that number is announced for 2026, it becomes the amount you pay out-of-pocket before your Plan G or N coverage takes over for the year. You can check the current figure at medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

Rate-adjustment season in Virginia

Medigap premiums are not set by Medicare. In Virginia, insurers file proposed rates with the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance, which reviews them. That is why two companies offering the identical Plan G can quote very different premiums — and why the same company's rate can change from one year to the next.

A few practical points for Newport News readers:

• Ask each insurer how they price the plan: some use age-based pricing, some do not.
• Ask when your renewal rate is set to change, and by how much.
• If you are within your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment window (the six months starting the month you turn 65 and enroll in Part B), you generally have guaranteed-issue rights — insurers cannot deny you or charge more based on health. Outside that window, medical underwriting usually applies.

You can review current rate filings and consumer guides through Virginia's Bureau of Insurance and through the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP), the state's SHIP.

Insurers entering or leaving

The Virginia Medigap market moves less often than Medicare Advantage does. Insurers can add or drop specific plan letters, or exit the state, but those changes are filed with the Bureau of Insurance rather than announced through the fall Annual Enrollment Period. The full list of companies currently selling Medigap in Virginia — from AARP – UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company through WoodmenLife — is in the table below. If your current insurer stops offering your plan, you keep your existing policy under state law; you would only need to shop if you chose to switch.

What this has to do with AEP

Medigap is separate from Part D drug coverage and Medicare Advantage. But the fall calendar still matters:

• Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7): change Part D or Medicare Advantage.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (Jan. 1 – March 31): switch Advantage plans or go back to Original Medicare.
• Medigap: apply any time, but outside your initial six-month window you may be underwritten.

For 2026, a few Part D program numbers are worth knowing while you are reviewing coverage: the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100, the maximum Part D deductible is $615, and IRMAA income-based surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments if that helps your budget.