Medigap Plan G: Everything You Need to Know

Three years ago, Plan F was the king of Medicare Supplement. Covered everything, zero out-of-pocket costs, the end. Then Congress decided people with zero cost-sharing use too much healthcare—which is debatable, but here we are—and closed Plan F to new enrollees starting January 1, 2020.

Plan G stepped into that vacuum and it's been running away from the competition ever since. As of 2026, it's the most widely sold Medigap plan in the country. Agents recommend it. Actuaries respect it. And once you understand what it covers, it's hard to argue with the logic.

The pitch is simple: one out-of-pocket cost per year. The $283 Medicare Part B deductible. Pay that once, and for the rest of the calendar year, Plan G picks up everything else that Original Medicare approves. Hospital deductibles. Coinsurance. Copays. Excess charges. Even emergency care if you need it outside the US. After your deductible: done. No more bills.

For people on fixed incomes—which describes a lot of 65-year-olds—this kind of predictability is worth real money. You can budget. You know your worst-case scenario. That matters.

Let me go line by line because this is worth understanding precisely.

Medicare Part A Hospital Deductible: $1,676 in 2026. This resets every benefit period, not every calendar year—which means if you have two separate hospitalizations more than 60 days apart, you could technically owe this twice in one year. Plan G covers both. Each time.

Part A Coinsurance and Hospital Costs: Medicare covers the first 60 days of a hospital stay after your deductible. Days 61–90 cost you $419/day in coinsurance in 2026. Days 91+ (lifetime reserve days) cost $838/day. Plan G covers all of that. Beyond 150 total lifetime reserve days, Plan G continues to cover hospital costs for an additional 365 days total. That's more than a year of additional hospital coverage.

Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance: If Medicare approves a skilled nursing facility stay, the first 20 days are fully covered by Medicare. Days 21–100 require $209.50/day coinsurance in 2026. Plan G covers all of that. Days beyond 100, Medicare stops paying entirely and so does Plan G—but that's a separate long-term care situation.

Medicare Part B Coinsurance and Copayments: This is the big one for most people. After the Part B deductible (which Plan G does NOT cover), Medicare pays 80% of approved outpatient costs. You'd owe 20%. There's no cap on this 20%—it could be hundreds or thousands of dollars in a bad year. Plan G pays that entire 20% coinsurance.

Medicare Part B Excess Charges: Some doctors don't accept Medicare assignment, meaning they charge more than Medicare's approved amount—up to 15% more. Those excess charges are your problem unless you have Plan G or Plan F. Plan G covers them in full. Plan N does not. If you see doctors who balance bill, this matters.

First Three Pints of Blood: Minor in practice but it's covered. If you need blood, the first three pints that Medicare doesn't cover are on Plan G.

Part A Hospice Care Coinsurance and Copayments: Covered in full.

Foreign Travel Emergency: This one surprises people. Plan G covers 80% of medically necessary emergency care when you travel outside the US, after a $250 annual deductible, up to a lifetime maximum of $50,000. If you travel internationally with any regularity, this is meaningful coverage.

What Plan G Does NOT Cover: — The $283 Medicare Part B deductible (2026). This is your only regular out-of-pocket cost. — Prescription drugs. You need a separate Part D plan. — Dental, vision, hearing. These require separate coverage or a supplemental dental/vision plan. — Long-term custodial care (nursing home for personal care, not skilled nursing). — Routine foot care and most chiropractic visits beyond what Medicare allows. — Cosmetic surgery, elective procedures Medicare doesn't cover.

This is the data most articles won't give you clearly. Let me be specific. These are real market rates from major carriers in 2026, though your exact premium will depend on your ZIP code and the specific carrier.

Age 65, Female, Non-Smoker: — Georgia (Atlanta area): Cigna $131, Aetna $152, Mutual of Omaha $166, AARP/UHC $179 — Texas (Dallas area): Cigna $142, Aetna $158, Mutual of Omaha $171, AARP/UHC $185 — Florida (Tampa area): Cigna $168, Aetna $189, Mutual of Omaha $197, AARP/UHC $212 — California (Los Angeles area): $185–$255 range depending on carrier — New York (all carriers, any age): approximately $354 (community-rated, same for everyone) — Illinois (Chicago area): $148–$175 depending on carrier — Ohio (Columbus area): $151–$183 depending on carrier — Pennsylvania (Philadelphia area): $167–$198 depending on carrier — Tennessee (Nashville area): $138–$165 depending on carrier — Indiana (Indianapolis area): $144–$168 depending on carrier

Age 65, Male, Non-Smoker: — Georgia: $145–$198 range — Texas: $158–$204 range — Florida: $182–$228 range — California: $198–$268 range — Illinois: $161–$189 range

Age 70, Female, Non-Smoker (attained-age pricing, same carriers): — Georgia: $162–$221 — Texas: $171–$238 — Florida: $214–$279 — Illinois: $185–$218

Age 75, Female, Non-Smoker: — Georgia: $202–$278 — Texas: $215–$303 — Florida: $267–$341

Age 80, Female, Non-Smoker: — Georgia: $258–$362 — Texas: $271–$389 — Florida: $332–$421

A few observations worth noting. Florida is expensive because of its older population and high utilization rates—carriers have to price for that risk pool. Tennessee and Indiana are consistently among the cheapest markets in the country. New York's community rating means a 65-year-old pays the same as a 78-year-old, which sounds unfair to younger enrollees but actually protects you as you age.

The spread between cheapest and most expensive carrier in the same ZIP code is real and it's large. In Atlanta, there's a $48/month gap between the cheapest and fourth-cheapest Plan G option for a 65-year-old woman. That's $576/year for literally identical coverage. The only reason to pay more is if the cheaper carrier has a terrible rate increase history—which is why you always check that.

The $283 Part B deductible is the only annual out-of-pocket cost you'll have with Plan G (assuming you use Medicare-participating providers and don't travel internationally). Let's be clear about what this means in practice.

The Part B deductible resets every January 1. You pay the first $283 of Medicare-approved Part B services each year, then Plan G covers the 20% coinsurance on everything after that. In practice, if you see a doctor in January, that $283 gets satisfied quickly—a single specialist visit often runs $200–$400 in Medicare-approved charges, meaning your coinsurance obligation kicks in after just one or two visits.

For the vast majority of Medicare beneficiaries, the $283 deductible is a minor inconvenience. It's not zero, but it's also not the catastrophic surprise bill that Original Medicare can generate without supplemental coverage.

The reason Plan G doesn't cover this deductible is political, not actuarial. Congress decided in 2015 to phase out plans that cover the Part B deductible to discourage what they called 'first dollar coverage' that allegedly inflates healthcare utilization. The data supporting that theory is mixed, but the rule is real. New enrollees live with the $283.

Plan F—if you qualify for it—covers this deductible. But Plan F premiums typically run $30–$60/month more than Plan G for comparable coverage. Simple math: $283/year versus $360–$720/year in extra premiums. Plan G wins the math almost every time for new enrollees. The only exception is if you're unusually high utilization where the psychological value of truly zero cost-sharing justifies the premium.

The Part B deductible amount gets adjusted annually. It was $226 in 2023, $240 in 2024, $257 in 2025, and $283 in 2026—increasing roughly 8% this year. Historically the annual increase has averaged 5–7%. This is a modest increase in your expected out-of-pocket costs over time.

There's a version of Plan G you probably haven't heard enough about: High-Deductible Plan G. Same benefits as regular Plan G, but you pay the first $2,950 of Medicare-covered costs out of pocket in 2026 before the insurance kicks in. The payoff? Monthly premiums around $40–$65 at age 65.

That's a dramatic premium difference. Regular Plan G might cost you $160/month; HD Plan G might cost $52. The monthly savings: $108/month or $1,296/year. Your maximum additional out-of-pocket exposure compared to regular Plan G is $2,950 minus $283 (the regular Part B deductible you'd pay anyway) = $2,667.

So the break-even math: if your annual cost-sharing under HD Plan G stays below $1,296 (your premium savings), you come out ahead. For a healthy 65-year-old who sees a doctor a few times a year, this is usually the case.

Who should look at HD Plan G: people in their 60s who are in good health, have some liquid savings ($5,000–$10,000 set aside for healthcare contingencies), and don't have chronic conditions requiring frequent specialist visits or expensive treatments. It's essentially a high-deductible health insurance strategy applied to Medicare, and it works for the right person.

Who shouldn't: people with ongoing chronic conditions, those who see multiple specialists regularly, anyone who doesn't have a savings cushion to cover the deductible comfortably, or people who would genuinely stress about the bill uncertainty. The peace of mind from standard Plan G has real value.

Not every carrier offers HD Plan G. Mutual of Omaha and a handful of others do. Ask specifically when you shop.

This is the most important section in this article, and I'm going to be direct about it.

The absolute best time to buy Plan G is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period—the 6-month window that starts the month you turn 65 and are enrolled in Medicare Part B. During those 6 months, no insurance company can deny you coverage, charge you more due to health conditions, or make you wait out a pre-existing condition exclusion period. You are guaranteed the best available rate in your area regardless of your health history.

Miss that window and you're in underwriting territory. Carriers can ask about your health, review your prescription history, and decline your application outright if you have conditions on their list. Dialysis, congestive heart failure, cancer, COPD, recent heart attack or stroke—these conditions routinely result in denials outside the open enrollment period. And they can legally do this in most states.

Four states—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York—require carriers to sell Medigap to anyone regardless of health, with no underwriting. If you live in one of these states, your window is less critical (though pricing is still generally better during the guaranteed issue period).

If you're coming off employer coverage or COBRA, the calculus changes. You may have a separate guaranteed issue right triggered by losing that coverage, as long as you act within 63 days of losing it. Same protections apply during that window.

Bottom line: enroll in Plan G during your open enrollment period. Don't wait to see if you stay healthy. Don't wait because you feel fine. The carriers you're considering now may not accept you in two years, and you'll have no recourse.

Timing within the year also matters for premium optimization. Some states have distinct rating territories that change the cheapest carrier. Some carriers offer promotional pricing for early enrollment in certain months. These are margin gains, not game-changers—but worth asking an independent agent about.

If you're already on a Medigap plan and thinking about switching to Plan G, the process is straightforward in theory and occasionally complicated in practice.

You can apply for a different Medigap plan anytime. But if you're outside a protected enrollment period, the new carrier will underwrite you. If you developed health conditions after you originally enrolled, you might get denied. This is why getting on the right plan at the right time initially matters so much.

Switching from Plan F to Plan G is the most common scenario. The math almost always favors switching if you're under about age 75 and in reasonable health. Plan F premiums have been rising faster than Plan G because the risk pool is aging and no new young-healthy enrollees are joining. If you're on Plan F and paying $250+/month when comparable Plan G is $180, you're paying $70/month—or $840/year—to avoid a $283 annual deductible. That's not smart math.

Before you switch, get a Quote on Plan G from 3–4 carriers, compare to your current Plan F rate, factor in the $283 deductible you'll now be responsible for, and calculate your break-even. For most people switching at ages 66–72, the savings are real.

Note: if you switch from Plan F to Plan G, you can't switch back to Plan F without going through underwriting again (unless you're in a protected state). Make sure Plan G is the right long-term choice before you move.