Since January 2020, new enrollees in Medicare have not had access to Medigap Plan F. However, if a person already had this plan, they have been allowed to keep it.
Private insurance companies offer Medigap health insurance. Medigap plans help people pay the health costs that Original Medicare does not cover.
These additional costs may include premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance.
Across providers, plans with the same letter must offer the same benefits. That being said, some companies may include more benefits.
Glossary of Medicare terms
- Out-of-pocket cost: This is the amount a person must pay for care when Medicare does not pay the total amount or offer coverage. Costs can include deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, and premiums.
- Premium: This is the amount of money someone pays each month for Medicare coverage.
- Deductible: This is an annual amount a person must spend out of pocket within a certain period before Medicare starts to fund their treatments.
- Coinsurance: This is the percentage of treatment costs that a person must self-fund. For Medicare Part B, coinsurance is 20%.
- Copayment: This is a fixed dollar amount a person with insurance pays when receiving certain treatments. For Medicare, this usually applies to prescription drugs.
There are currently 10 Medigap plans, which provide coverage for various Medicare benefits. This includes the discontinued Plan F and Plan C.
Some items, such as Part A coinsurance and hospital costs after a person has used up their Medicare benefits, have 100% coverage by all the plans. A person gets additional coverage for up to 365 days.
However, other items have varying levels of coverage, depending on the plan details.
For example, coverage for Part B copay or coinsurance, the first 3 pints of blood, and Part A hospice care copay or coinsurance varies from 50% to 100% among these plans:
- Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, M, and N provide 100% coverage.
- Plan K provides 50% coverage.
- Plan L provides 75% coverage.
Six plans offer 80% coverage for foreign travel exchange, though not A, B, K, or L.
Only Plan K and Plan L have out-of-pocket limits in 2025. These limits are $7,220 for Plan K and $3,610 for Plan L.
A person can find a comparison of all 10 plans using this online tool.
From January 1, 2020, a change in federal law meant that Medigap plans are not allowed to pay the Medicare Part B deductible.
Therefore, after that date, companies cannot offer plans that cover that deductible, such as Plan F, to people who are new to Medicare.
However, a person who had enrolled in a Medigap Plan F before January 1, 2020, can keep their plan.
Medigap Plan F has a standard version together with a high deductible plan that providers in some states offer. The high deductible plan does not start paying benefits until after a person has met the yearly deductible, which is $2,870 in 2025.
To enroll in a Medigap policy, a person must have Original Medicare (Part A and Part B).
When to enroll
Individuals have a 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment period. This period begins the first month a person has Medicare Part B and is 65 years old.
This is a one-time open enrollment period and does not recur every year like other enrollment periods.
If a person does not enroll in Medigap during this time, they may not be able to enroll or they may have to pay more for the plan. They may also find that fewer plan options are available to them.
How to enroll
A person can check the plans available in their area using a Medicare online tool. Costs vary among plans, even among those of the same designated letter.
To enroll in a Medigap plan, a person can use the company’s online form or ask for a paper version. The company cannot ask questions about family history or ask a person to take a genetic test.
Guaranteed issue rights
A person may be eligible for guaranteed issue rights if they have other coverage that has changed.
In these cases:
- Companies must offer a person a Medigap plan.
- The policy must cover preexisting medical conditions.
- The company cannot charge more because of health conditions, past or present.
Switching Medigap plans
A person may decide to switch Medigap plans for various reasons, such as if their health situation changes and they need a different level of coverage.
A person may switch without penalty if they have had the first policy for under 6 months. People who have a preexisting medical condition may have to wait up to 6 months for the new policy to cover their health condition.
In some states, Medicare may offer a person a SELECT policy, which is similar to Medigap but limits a person to a local network of doctors and hospitals. With that policy, a person has 12 months to decide if they want to switch to a standard Medigap plan.
However, the policy provider may charge more for the new plan after the Medigap open enrollment period.
A person will pay a premium for the Medigap plan and a premium for Medicare Part B. Many people do not pay a premium for Medicare Part A.
A Medigap comparison table can help a person compare various plan premiums and coverage. There are also tools that offer:
- the name and contact information of the companies offering the plan
- a link to the company website
- an explanation of how they determine premiums
Although Medigap policies are standardized, companies may charge different amounts for the same or similar policies.
Medicare resources
For more resources to help guide you through the complex world of medical insurance, visit our Medicare hub.
Private companies sell Medigap plans to help people cover the out-of-pocket cost gaps in Medicare.
Beginning January 1, 2020, no policy was able to provide coverage for the Medicare Part B deductible. Because this coverage was one of the benefits of Medigap Plan F, the plan became unavailable to people who are new to Medicare.
A person who enrolled in the plan before January 1, 2020, can keep it.
