Medicare Supplement

Medigap, Explained: What Those Letter Plans Really Cover

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — If you're new to Medicare, or helping a parent sort through the mail piling up on the kitchen table, you've probably run into a puzzle: what exactly is a Medicare Supplement plan, and why are they labeled with letters like A, G, and N?

Medicare Supplement insurance — most people call it Medigap — is private coverage that works alongside Original Medicare. It's designed to help pay some of the costs Medicare Parts A and B leave behind, like deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. Here's a plain-language walk-through of what Medigap does, what it doesn't do, and how those standardized letter plans work.

What Medigap actually is

Medigap is sold by private insurance companies, but the benefits inside each lettered plan are set by federal and state rules. That means a Plan G from one company covers the same core benefits as a Plan G from another company. The price and customer service can differ — the benefits, by law, cannot.

Medigap only works with Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you can't also use a Medigap policy — the two aren't designed to work together. You can learn more directly from Medicare at medicare.gov.

How the standardized letters work

In most states, including West Virginia, Medigap plans come in these letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Each letter is a different package of benefits. Some are bare-bones; others are more comprehensive.

A few things worth knowing about the lineup:

• 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.
• Plan G has become one of the more common choices for newer enrollees because it covers most gaps except the Part B deductible.
• Plan N typically has lower premiums but asks you to pay some copays for office and emergency visits.
• Plans K and L have out-of-pocket limits and cover a percentage of certain costs rather than the full amount.

Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their Medigap plans differently, but that doesn't affect readers here in West Virginia.

What Medigap does not cover

This part trips people up. Medigap is not a catch-all. It generally does not cover:

• Prescription drugs (you'd need a separate Part D plan for that)
• Dental, vision, or hearing care
• Long-term care, like a nursing home stay for custodial reasons
• Private-duty nursing
• Eyeglasses or hearing aids

For 2026, Part D — the separate drug coverage — has a new out-of-pocket cap of $2,100 and a maximum deductible of $615. The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025, so drug coverage now moves through three phases instead of four. If monthly drug bills are a strain, Medicare also offers the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the year.

When to buy: the window that matters most

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — the six months that begin the first month you're both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, insurance companies can't turn you down or charge you more because of health conditions.

Miss that window, and in most states insurers can use medical underwriting, which may mean higher prices or a denial. West Virginia follows the federal rules on this, so it pays to plan ahead.

Note that the fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31) apply to Advantage and Part D plans — not to Medigap. Medigap has its own rules.

What this looks like around Bridgeport

Bridgeport sits in Harrison County, where residents on Original Medicare can shop Medigap policies from multiple private insurers licensed in West Virginia. Because benefits within each letter plan are standardized, the shopping question is usually about price, the company's reputation, and how they handle rate increases over time — not about which "Plan G" has better coverage.

For a side-by-side look at what each lettered plan covers, Medicare publishes a benefit chart at medicare.gov. The West Virginia State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — free, unbiased counseling — can also walk you through your options one-on-one.