Medicare Supplement

Medigap in Richmond: which standardized plan letters Virginia sells today

If you have Original Medicare and live in Richmond, a Medicare Supplement policy — better known as Medigap — is the private coverage that picks up some of the out-of-pocket costs Parts A and B leave behind. Virginia follows the federal standardized system, which means every Medigap policy sold here fits into a lettered plan with the same core benefits no matter which company sells it. That is the single most important thing to understand before you start shopping.

Medicare SupplementRichmond, VA

Medigap in Richmond: which standardized plan letters Virginia sells today

Here is how the letters work in Virginia, how a Medigap policy fits with Original Medicare and a stand-alone Part D drug plan, and where to go for help that fits your situation.

What Medigap is — and what it is not

Medigap is a private policy that sits alongside Original Medicare (Parts A and B). It helps pay costs like coinsurance, copayments and, depending on the letter, the Part A deductible. It does not replace Medicare, and it does not work with a Medicare Advantage plan.

A few things Medigap does not do:

• It does not include prescription drug coverage. For that you add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• It does not cover most dental, vision, hearing or long-term care.
• It does not have a network. If a provider accepts Original Medicare, your Medigap policy works with them — in Richmond or anywhere else in the country.

The standardized letters available in Virginia

Under federal rules, Medigap policies are sold by letter. Two people buying "Plan G" from different companies get the same core benefits, even if the price and customer service differ. (Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin use their own systems; Virginia does not.)

For people newly eligible for Medicare today, these letters are available in Virginia:

• Plan A — the base set of benefits every insurer offering Medigap must sell.
• Plan B — Plan A plus the Part A hospital deductible.
• Plan D — broader coverage, without the Part B deductible or excess charges.
• Plan G — one of the most comprehensive letters available to new enrollees.
• Plan G-HD — the high-deductible version of Plan G; you pay out of pocket up to a set amount before the plan pays.
• Plan K and Plan L — cost-sharing plans that pay a percentage of certain services, with an annual out-of-pocket limit.
• Plan M — a middle-ground option that splits the Part A deductible.
• Plan N — similar to G, but you may owe small copays for some office and ER visits and it does not cover Part B excess charges.

Plans C and F remain available, but only to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If that is you, you can still buy or keep them.

The table below lists every insurer selling Medigap in Virginia and which letters each one offers. Big national names like AARP – UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield – Virginia, Humana, Mutual of Omaha and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company all appear, along with smaller carriers such as Erie Family Life Insurance Company and WoodmenLife. Every one of them must offer the same benefits within a given letter.

How Medigap pairs with Part D in 2026

Medigap does not include drug coverage, so most Richmond residents on Original Medicare add a stand-alone Part D plan. Two 2026 numbers to know:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026. Once your covered drug spending reaches that limit, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026.

The old coverage gap — the "donut hole" — was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases instead of four. If you want to spread your drug costs across the year in level monthly payments, you can opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan through your Part D insurer.

Higher-income enrollees pay an IRMAA surcharge on top of Part B and Part D premiums. For 2026, IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

When you can buy a Medigap policy

Timing matters more with Medigap than almost any other Medicare decision.

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a six-month window that starts the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers in Virginia must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at the same price they charge a healthy person of your age, and they cannot turn you down for health reasons.

Outside that window, in most cases, insurers in Virginia can use medical underwriting — meaning they can look at your health history and decide whether to offer you a policy and at what price. There are some federal guaranteed-issue situations (for example, if a Medicare Advantage plan leaves your area, or you move out of its service area). Virginia may have additional protections in specific situations; the Virginia State Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance and the state's SHIP (Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program, or VICAP) can walk you through what applies to you.

Note that the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) are for Medicare Advantage and Part D — not for Medigap. You can apply for a Medigap policy at any time of year, but outside of a protected window, approval is not guaranteed.

What to compare when the benefits are already the same

Since the letters are standardized, benefits are not what varies from company to company. What can vary:

• Pricing method. Medigap policies can be priced by community rating, issue age or attained age. How the price is set today affects how it changes as you get older.
• Household or other discounts. Some carriers offer them; policies and eligibility rules differ.
• Customer service, billing options and claims handling.
• Financial strength and how long the company has been in the Virginia market.

We do not name a "best" carrier or letter, because the right fit depends on your health, your budget, the drugs you take and how you use care. That is exactly the kind of question a SHIP counselor is trained to help with — for free.