Medicare Supplement Health Insurance (Medigap)

Medicare Supplement Insurance, also known as “Medigap,” helps to fill in the “gaps” in Original Medicare and is sold by private insurance companies. A Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy can help pay some of the remaining health care costs, as shown in the chart below, paying special attention to plans G and N (the two most popular plans available to newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries) :

Medigap BenefitsMedigap Plans
G*NABCDF*KLM
Part A coinsurance and hospital costs up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up(G)
Yes
(N)
Yes
(A)
Yes
(B)
Yes
(C)
Yes
(D)
Yes
(F)
Yes
(K)
Yes
(L)
Yes
(M)
Yes
Part B coinsurance or copayment(G)
Yes
(N)
Yes***
(A)
Yes
(B)
Yes
(C)
Yes
(D)
Yes
(F)
Yes
(K)
50%
(L)
75%
(M)
Yes
Blood (first 3 pints)(G)
Yes
(N)
Yes
(A)
Yes
(B)
Yes
(C)
Yes
(D)
Yes
(F)
Yes
(K)
50%
(L)
75%
(M)
Yes
Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment(G)
Yes
(N)
Yes
(A)
Yes
(B)
Yes
(C)
Yes
(D)
Yes
(F)
Yes
(K)
50%
(L)
75%
(M)
Yes
Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance(G)
Yes
(N)
Yes
(A)
No
(B)
No
(C)
Yes
(D)
Yes
(F)
Yes
(K)
50%
(L)
75%
(M)
Yes
Part A deductible(G)
Yes
(N)
Yes
(A)
No
(B)
Yes
(C)
Yes
(D)
Yes
(F)
Yes
(K)
50%
(L)
75%
(M)
50%
Part B deductible(G)
No
(N)
No
(A)
No
(B)
No
(C)
Yes
(D)
No
(F)
Yes
(K)
No
(L)
No
(M)
No
Part B
Excess charge
If you have Original Medicare, and the amount a doctor or other health care provider is legally permitted to charge is higher than the Medicare-approved amount, the difference is called the excess charge.
(G)
Yes
(N)
No
(A)
No
(B)
No
(C)
No
(D)
No
(F)
Yes
(K)
No
(L)
No
(M)
No
Foreign travel exchange (up to plan limits)(G)
80%
(N)
80%
(A)
No
(B)
No
(C)
80%
(D)
80%
(F)
80%
(K)
No
(L)
No
(M)
80%
Out-of-pocket limit**(G)
N/A
(N)
N/A
(A)
N/A
(B)
N/A
(C)
N/A
(D)
N/A
(F)
N/A
(K)


$6,940 in 2023


(L)

$3,470 in 2023


(M)
N/A

* Plans F and G also offer a high-deductible plan in some states. With this option, you must pay for Medicare-covered costs (coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles) up to the deductible amount of $2,370 in 2021 before your policy pays anything. (Plans C and F aren’t available to people who were newly eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.)

**Plans K & L show how much they’ll pay for approved services before you meet your out-of-pocket yearly limit and Part B deductible. After you meet them, the plan will pay 100% for approved services.

***Plan N pays 100% of the costs of Part B services, except for copayments for some office visits and some emergency room visits.

Source: “Medicare and You 2023”