Medicare Supplement

Eligible for Medicare after 2020? Your Medigap letters

As 2027 approaches, Virginia Beach residents shopping for a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy will see the same core rules that shaped 2026 still in place — but a few moving parts reset every year, and this is the season to check them. Rate filings hit the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance, the Part B deductible that Plans G and N are built around resets on January 1, and the list of standardized plan letters you can buy depends on when you first became eligible for Medicare.

Medicare SupplementVirginia Beach, VA

Here is a plain-English look at what is changing, what is staying the same, and where to check the numbers for your ZIP code.

Which plan letters you can actually buy

Medigap policies are standardized by letter across most of the country, and Virginia follows the federal standardization. For anyone newly eligible for Medicare today, the letters available are A, B, D, G, G-HD (the high-deductible version of G), K, L, M and N.

Plans C and F are still around, but only for people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If that is you, and you already have C or F, you can keep it; if you are aging in now, those two letters are not an option.

This rule does not change in 2027. It is worth repeating because it is the single most common point of confusion at the counter.

The Part B deductible reset — why Plans G and N care

Plans G and N are the two most commonly purchased Medigap letters for people new to Medicare, and both are built around the Part B deductible. With Plan G, you pay that deductible yourself each year, then the plan picks up the Part B coinsurance. Plan N works similarly, with some office-visit and ER copays.

That deductible resets every January 1. CMS announces the new figure each fall for the following year, and it is posted on medicare.gov. Before you renew or switch in 2027, look up the current-year number so you know exactly what you will owe before your Medigap coverage kicks in.

Rate-adjustment season in Virginia

Medigap premiums are not set by Medicare. Each insurer files its rates with Virginia's State Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance, and increases usually take effect on the policy anniversary or at the start of a calendar year. There is no single "Virginia rate hike" — every carrier files its own numbers, and two people with the same plan letter from different insurers can pay very different premiums.

Because plan letters are standardized, a Plan G from one company covers the same Medicare gaps as a Plan G from another. What differs is the premium, the rating method (age-based vs. community-rated), household discounts, and customer service. That is why comparing filed rates matters more than brand names.

To see what carriers have filed, check Virginia's Medigap rate guide published by the Bureau of Insurance, or run a ZIP-code search on medicare.gov's Medigap policy finder.

Carriers entering or leaving

Insurer participation in Virginia's Medigap market shifts year to year, but there is no statewide list of carriers to share here. The most reliable way to see who is currently selling to Virginia Beach residents (ZIPs like 23451, 23452, 23454, 23455, 23456, 23462 and 23464) is the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search. It shows every insurer offering standardized plans at your ZIP, along with their contact information.

Virginia's SHIP — the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) — offers free, unbiased counseling and can walk you through the list.

Your enrollment rights matter more than the calendar

Medigap does not have an Annual Enrollment Period the way Medicare Advantage and Part D do. Instead, your strongest right is your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which starts the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, insurers must sell you any plan they offer at their best available rate, regardless of health.

Outside that window, in most cases, insurers in Virginia can use medical underwriting. That is why the timing of your first Medigap purchase often matters more than any single year's rate filings.