Medicare Supplement Plans Comparison (2026)

Medicare Supplement insurance — often called Medigap — continues to be a critical tool for millions of retirees who want more predictable healthcare expenses.

If you're new to Medicare, the ten lettered plans can feel like alphabet soup. Here's a plain-English comparison of all of them, plus guidance on how to actually narrow it down to the right one for you.

What Are Medicare Supplement Plans?

Medicare Supplement insurance, or Medigap, is private insurance that works alongside Original Medicare.

Every Medigap plan works the same basic way: when Medicare approves a claim, it pays its share first, and your Medigap policy covers some or all of what's left, depending on your specific plan.

Medigap plans are identified by letters — A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N — rather than by company or brand name. The letter is what determines the actual coverage.

The federal government standardizes the benefits for each lettered plan, so a Plan G sold by one company covers exactly the same things as a Plan G sold by any other company in the same state. Only the premium, the company's service, and its rate history change from one insurer to the next.

Why Are Plans Labeled With Letters Instead of Company Names?

The letters (A through N) are a federal standard, not a brand.

Congress created this system so shoppers could compare apples to apples — a letter tells you exactly what's covered, regardless of which company sells it.

Why Doesn't Every Company Just Offer Its Own Benefits Package?

They used to, decades ago, and it made comparison shopping nearly impossible.

Standardization was designed specifically to stop companies from competing on confusing fine print and instead compete on price and service.

Why Do Some Plans Cover More Than Others?

Each lettered plan was built for a different risk tolerance and budget.

Plan G and Plan F cover nearly everything because they're designed for people who want to eliminate cost-sharing entirely.

Plans K, L, and M exist for people willing to take on more of the bill themselves in exchange for a lower premium.

Why Did Plan F Disappear for New Enrollees?

Federal law changed in 2020 to stop first-dollar Medigap plans (ones covering the Part B deductible) from being sold to anyone newly eligible for Medicare.

The idea was to encourage at least some cost-sharing, so beneficiaries have a small incentive to consider cost before seeking care.

If you already had Plan F before that date, you can keep it.

Do I Choose the Company First, or the Plan First?

Always the plan first.

Since the letter determines your actual coverage, deciding which letter fits your health and budget comes before you ever start comparing which company sells it cheapest.

We'll come back to this distinction in more detail below — it's one of the most confusing parts of shopping for Medigap, and getting the order right saves a lot of wasted comparison shopping.

How to Compare Medicare Supplement Plans

The comparison table below has ten columns, and it can look overwhelming at first glance.

Before you dive in, here's what actually matters. When comparing Medicare Supplement plans, focus on these five differences:

• Does it cover the Part A deductible?
• Does it cover the Part B deductible? (Only Plan C and Plan F do, and both are closed to anyone newly eligible after 2020.)
• Does it cover Part B excess charges?
• Does it include foreign travel emergency coverage?
• How much cost-sharing are you personally comfortable with?

Everything else in the chart is really just variations on those five questions. Keep them in mind as you scan the table below.

Comparison Table: All 10 Medigap Plans

Here's how all ten plans stack up, side by side. Plan G and Plan N are highlighted since they're the two most commonly chosen.

*Plan N may include copays for some office/ER visits that don't result in an inpatient admission. Plan availability varies by state and by insurance company.

What the Chart Tells Us

At first glance, many of the plans look similar because they all cover Medicare's biggest gaps to some degree.

The biggest differences come down to:

• How much cost-sharing you're willing to keep.
• Whether excess charges are covered.
• Whether foreign travel emergency benefits matter to you.
• Whether you're eligible for plans that are no longer sold to new Medicare beneficiaries.

Plan F and Plan G are the only two plans that cover Part B excess charges. Plan N covers almost as much but leaves excess charges and small copays on the table in exchange for a lower premium.

Each of the other plans exists for its own reason, too. Here's what every plan is actually designed for — read through all ten before we get to how most people narrow it down.

What Each Medigap Plan Is Designed For

Plan A

The most basic plan sold, covering only the core benefits every Medigap plan shares: Part A hospital coinsurance, Part B coinsurance, blood, and hospice cost-sharing.

No deductibles, no excess charges, no travel coverage.

Rarely the cheapest option once you compare it to Plan N, so few people choose it today.

Plan B

Adds the Part A deductible on top of Plan A's basics.

Like Plan A, it's been mostly priced out of relevance by Plan N, which covers more for a similar premium.

Plan C

Covers nearly everything except Part B excess charges, including both Part A and Part B deductibles.

Closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 — only people who already had it can keep it.

Plan D

Similar to Plan C but without the Part B deductible.

Still sold in most states, but it typically costs close to Plan G without matching Plan G's excess-charge protection, so it's rarely the best value.

Plan F

The most complete Medigap plan ever sold — it covered every gap Original Medicare leaves, including the Part B deductible.

Like Plan C, it's closed to anyone newly eligible after 2020.

If you already have it, there's rarely a reason to give it up.

Plan G

The most complete plan available to new enrollees.

It covers everything Plan F does except the Part B deductible — a relatively small annual cost.

This is the most comprehensive coverage most new enrollees can still buy today.

Plan K

Covers only 50% of most cost-sharing but caps your annual out-of-pocket spending at $7,220.

Appeals to extremely budget-conscious enrollees on paper, but most people find the coinsurance exposure too high relative to the premium savings once they run the actual numbers.

Plan L

Covers 75% of most cost-sharing with a lower $3,610 out-of-pocket cap than Plan K.

Same basic tradeoff as Plan K, just less extreme.

Plan M

Covers 50% of the Part A deductible and skips the Part B deductible entirely.

A narrow niche plan — most people who'd consider it end up better served by Plan N instead.

Plan N

Covers nearly as much as Plan G, but includes small copays for some office and ER visits and doesn't cover Part B excess charges.

In exchange, the premium is meaningfully lower.

A common tradeoff for people who want most of Plan G's protection at a lower monthly cost.

How Most People Narrow Their Choices

In my experience, after reviewing all ten plans, most new Medicare beneficiaries ultimately narrow their choices to Plan G, Plan N, or High Deductible Plan G because those three tend to offer the strongest balance of coverage and long-term value.

The other plans still have legitimate uses, but they generally appeal to more specific situations.

Choosing between them isn't about which plan has the most benefits on paper. It's about balancing your current and future health needs against your comfort with out-of-pocket costs.

Two Separate Decisions, Not One

There are two separate decisions you'll make, and mixing them up is where most of the confusion in Medigap shopping comes from.

Decision #1: Which standardized Medicare Supplement plan fits your needs?

Decision #2: Which insurance company offers that plan at the best value?

Everything above this point — the chart, the plan-by-plan breakdown, the funnel — is about Decision #1 only. Comparing companies comes later, once you already know which letter you want.

Help Me Choose

Forget the plan letters for a second. Here's how I'd think about it if a client described their situation to me in plain terms.

How to Compare Companies After Choosing a Plan

Once you know which plan you want, the insurance company you buy it from matters more than most people expect — since the benefits are identical, the differences come down to price and service.

• Financial strength: look for A-rated companies from independent agencies like AM Best, Moody's, or Standard & Poor's.
• Rate increase history: some carriers have a track record of steeper, less predictable premium hikes than others.
• Household discounts: many insurers knock 5–10% off premiums when a household has more than one policyholder — always ask, since it's rarely advertised upfront.
• Customer service and digital tools: some carriers offer robust apps and 24/7 support; others still run mostly on paper and phone calls.
• Underwriting guidelines: if you're applying outside your Open Enrollment window, different carriers apply very different standards to health history.

It's also worth checking whether a carrier has a pattern of closing blocks of business to existing policyholders, which can leave you facing bigger rate jumps down the road. Our 10 best Medicare Supplement companies roundup goes deeper on specific carriers.

Who Can Get a Medigap Plan?

To qualify for a Medigap plan, you must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B.

The best time to buy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period, a six-month window starting when you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.

During this window, you can buy any plan sold in your area without medical underwriting — meaning you generally can't be denied coverage or charged more because of your health.

Outside it, most insurers can require underwriting, though guaranteed-issue rights still apply in certain situations, like losing other coverage involuntarily.

Medigap plan benefits are federally standardized; premiums and company-specific details vary by carrier and location. This guide is for general education and isn't a guarantee of coverage or pricing.