Home / Medicare Supplements
Medicare Supplements
A supplement pays the share Original Medicare leaves to you. The benefits are set by law, so the real decision is which letter — and which company.
Medigap
What a supplement does
A Medicare supplement — Medigap — sits alongside Original Medicare and pays the share Medicare leaves to you. You keep Original Medicare, you keep any doctor in the country who accepts it, and the plan quietly covers the rest.
- It works with Medicare, not instead of itMedicare pays first, then the supplement pays its part. No networks and no referrals.
- It does not include drug coverageYou buy a standalone Part D plan alongside it. This surprises people every year.
- The letter defines the benefitsPlans are standardized by letter. Plan G is Plan G everywhere, whoever sells it.
- You pay a monthly premiumWhether you see a doctor or not. In return, your costs are predictable when you do.
Side by side
What each plan letter covers
The chart below is the whole product line. Most people end up in one of two or three columns.
| Benefit | Plan A | Plan B | Plan D | Plan G | Plan K | Plan L | Plan M | Plan N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A coinsurance and hospital costs (365 extra days) | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Part B coinsurance or copayment | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% | 75% | 100% | 100%* |
| First three pints of blood | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% | 75% | 100% | 100% |
| Part A hospice care coinsurance | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% | 75% | 100% | 100% |
| Skilled nursing facility coinsurance | — | — | 100% | 100% | 50% | 75% | 100% | 100% |
| Part A deductible | — | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% | 75% | 50% | 100% |
| Part B deductible | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Part B excess charges | — | — | — | 100% | — | — | — | — |
| Foreign travel emergency | — | — | 80% | 80% | — | — | 80% | 80% |
| Yearly out-of-pocket limit | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — |
Benefits are set by law, so Plan G from one company is identical to Plan G from another — only the price and the service differ. * Plan N pays the Part B coinsurance except for copayments of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don't lead to admission. Plans C and F are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. High-deductible versions of F and G are also sold. Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their plans differently.
The short list
The three most people actually choose
Plan G
The most complete plan available to people newly eligible. Covers everything except the Part B deductible, including excess charges. Highest premium of the three, and the fewest surprises.
Plan N
Lower premium than G. You pay small copays for some office and emergency room visits, and it doesn't cover Part B excess charges — which matters more in some states than others.
High-deductible G
The lowest premium by far. You pay everything yourself until you hit an annual deductible, then coverage matches Plan G. Good for people who rarely use care and can absorb a bad year.
The window
Six months, and it doesn't come back
This is the single most important date in Medicare that nobody tells you about.
For six months beginning the day your Part B starts, you can buy any supplement sold in your state at the best rate, with no health questions. After that window, in most states a company can look at your health history and decline you.
- During the windowGuaranteed acceptance. Your health doesn't affect the price or the answer.
- After the windowMedical underwriting in most states. A past diagnosis can mean a higher rate or a refusal.
- Guaranteed issue rightsCertain events — losing employer coverage, a plan leaving your area, moving out of a plan's service area — reopen guaranteed acceptance for a limited time.
- A few states are differentSome states let you switch supplements every year regardless of health. We'll tell you if yours is one.
Price
Why two quotes for the same plan differ
Same benefits, wildly different premiums. The gap is in how the company prices and how much it raises rates later.
Attained-age rated
The premium is based on your current age and climbs as you get older. Most common, and usually cheapest at 65.
Issue-age rated
Based on your age when you bought it. It doesn't rise because you aged, though it still rises with inflation.
Community rated
Everyone with that plan in the area pays the same, regardless of age.
The number nobody quotes you: a company's rate increase history. A cheap plan from a company that raises rates aggressively costs more by year five. We look at that before we recommend anyone.
Choosing
If the benefits are identical, what's left?
Price, rate increase history, and how the company behaves when you file a claim. That's the entire decision, and it's exactly the part that's hard to research on your own.
What we compare
Every company we're appointed with, for your age and zip code, with their rate history — not just today's premium.
What it costs you
Nothing. The premium is the same whether you buy through us or directly from the company.
What happens after
We stay on as your agent. Claim problems, rate increases, annual reviews — you call us, not a call center.
Now let's apply this to you.
Your doctors, your prescriptions, your zip code. Twenty minutes on the phone and you'll know where you stand.