Medicare · Supplement · Plan G
Medicare Supplement Plan G — explained, in plain language.
The most comprehensive Medigap plan you can buy in 2026. How Plan G works alongside Original Medicare, what it covers (every Medicare gap except the annual Part B deductible), who typically picks it, when a different plan is a better fit, and the four axes to compare carriers on — since the benefits are standardized federally, the apples-to-apples comparison lives in the pricing and the financial-strength column.
Reading on behalf of a parent or a client? mote-financial@polsia.app — or call 229-469-1201.
What you’ll find on this page
- 01How Plan G works.
- 02What Plan G covers.
- 03Who Plan G is best for.
- 04How to compare carriers.
- 05When Plan G may not be the right pick.
Prefer to talk it through? Book a 30-minute consultation — bring your providers, your prescription list, and your zip code.
01 · The shape of the plan
How Plan G works.
Sits on top of Original Medicare (A + B). Standardized across carriers. Any doctor that accepts Medicare. Pays the second after Medicare pays.
Plan G is a Medicare Supplement — also called a Medigap plan. It is not a replacement for Medicare. It is a private plan that pairs with Original Medicare and pays the gaps Medicare leaves on the table. Medicare is the primary payer; Plan G is the secondary. Together, the pair keeps your share of the bill close to zero.
Standardized at the federal level
Same benefits regardless of carrier.
A Plan G sold by one A-rated carrier covers exactly the same gaps as a Plan G sold by another A-rated carrier. The letter — Plan G — is the contract. Carrier difference shows up in price, pricing method, household discount, and financial strength — never in benefits.
Any Medicare-accepting doctor
Nationwide, no network.
Plan G follows Original Medicare’s network rules, which are effectively the opposite of an Advantage plan: any provider that accepts Medicare, anywhere in the country. No referral. No prior authorization. Network disruptions aren’t a thing you have to plan around.
Medicare pays first
Plan G pays the second.
A claim flows Medicare → Plan G → you. After your Part B deductible is met, Plan G covers the remaining 20% of approved outpatient costs and most or all of the inpatient gaps — leaving your share of a covered service at $0, in most cases.
Foreign travel add-on
Up to $50,000 lifetime for emergencies abroad.
Most Medigap plans — including Plan G — add a foreign travel emergency benefit: 80% of approved costs, after a $250 deductible, during the first 60 days of a trip. Useful, but not a replacement for a real travel-medical product on longer trips.
Why this section matters
Plan G is the most comprehensive Medigap plan available to new Medicare enrollees after the 2020 cutoff that closed Plan F to anyone becoming eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. For everyone aging in after that date, Plan G is the top of the menu.
02 · Coverage line by line
What Plan G covers.
Every Original Medicare gap except one — the annual Part B deductible. Benefits are standardized federally across carriers.
Plan G covers everything a federally standardized Medigap plan can cover, in 2026, except for the Part B deductible. Six benefits, each filling in a specific gap Original Medicare leaves on your side of the table.
Part A coinsurance + 365 extra hospital days
Plan G pays 100%
After Medicare’s 60-day inpatient period, Plan G steps in — and adds a full year of hospital coverage beyond what Medicare pays at all.
Part A hospice coinsurance / copay
Plan G pays 100%
Small copays for outpatient drugs and respite care during hospice — Plan G covers them so hospice care lands as a true $0 cost-share.
Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) coinsurance
Plan G pays 100%
Days 21–100 of a qualifying SNF stay. Medicare pays days 1–20; Plan G covers the daily coinsurance Medicare charges for the rest.
Part B coinsurance
Plan G pays 20%
After your Part B deductible, Medicare pays 80% of approved outpatient costs. Plan G pays the other 20% — no coinsurance bills from your doctor visits, lab work, DME, or infusions.
Part B excess charges
Plan G pays 100%
A small share of providers who don’t accept Medicare assignment can charge up to 15% above the Medicare-approved amount. Plan F covered this; Plan G is the only other plan that does.
Foreign travel emergency care
Plan G pays 80% (up to plan limit)
First 60 days of a trip, after a $250 deductible, up to a lifetime maximum of $50,000. Most useful for snowbirds, cruises, and overseas family visits — not a replacement for travel insurance.
The one exception
The annual Part B deductible is the only gap you still pay out of pocket after Medicare and Plan G pay. It resets each calendar year, lands in the low-to-mid three figures, and is the same dollar amount for every Medigap plan letter — there’s no Plan G that pays it. Until the deductible is met, you pay 100% of Medicare-approved outpatient costs; once it’s met, Plan G takes over.
03 · Who typically picks it
Who Plan G is best for.
Aging in cleanly at 65, frequent travelers, anyone who wants predictable costs and any Medicare-accepting doctor, and people who couldn’t buy Plan F after the 2020 cutoff.
See if you fit →Typical fit
Aging in at 65 with a clean medical history
Inside your Medigap Open Enrollment window — the six months starting the day Part B becomes effective — you cannot be turned down or charged more for any health condition. Most 65-year-olds walk into Plan G at the lowest rate class the carrier offers.
Typical fit
People who wanted Plan F but are locked out
As of January 1, 2020, Plan F is closed to new Medicare enrollees. If you became eligible for Medicare after that date, Plan G is the most comprehensive plan you can still buy — same Part B excess-charge coverage, only the small Part B deductible stays with you.
Typical fit
Frequent travelers, snowbirds, and multi-state families
Plan G travels with you to any provider that accepts Medicare. No network, no referral, no prior authorization — your coverage works in another state, at a winter home, or at an out-of-state specialist exactly the same way.
Typical fit
Anyone who wants predictable costs and any-accepting-doctor
A steady monthly premium plus the small annual Part B deductible. No copays, no networks, no OOP-max surprises. That predictability is the headline selling point; rate-stability across years is the part to verify.
Typical fit
Beneficiaries comfortable paying the small annual deductible
Plan G leaves only the Part B deductible on your side of the table (the deductible resets each year). Most years it lands in the low-to-mid three figures — the trade for everything else Plan G covers.
04 · Carrier by carrier
How to compare carriers.
Benefits are federally identical. The apples-to-apples comparison lives on four axes — price, pricing method, household discount, and financial strength.
The Plan G letter is the contract. Selling Plan G is selling the same gap coverage everyone sells. The real differentiator is which carrier sells it — and on what terms. Pick the carrier, not the letter.
Compare on…
Price
Same benefits, different premiums. Get three to five quotes from top-rated carriers and put them side by side for the same Plan G letter, same zip, same age, same gender, same tobacco status. The first year’s price is only half the answer.
Compare on…
Rate-increase history
Past increases predict future increases. A carrier pricing 20% below the market today is often catching up tomorrow — ask for the last 3–5 years of rate-change history for your state and plan letter.
Compare on…
Pricing method
Community-rated: same premium for everyone in the area, regardless of age. Issue-age: priced at the age you buy it, ages with the rate class, not with you. Attained-age: cheapest at 65, climbs every year as you age — the headline premium is rarely the headline again at 75.
Compare on…
Household discount
When two people in the same household both enroll in the same Medigap carrier, many carriers give a discount — usually 5–12%. Discount size and stacking rules vary, and not every carrier offers one. Confirm in writing.
Compare on…
Financial strength rating
A carrier’s AM Best rating speaks to its ability to pay claims decades from now. A rated A+ carriers with the strongest ratings are worth favoring when premiums are similar — a cheaper carrier with a weaker rating is the wrong place to save money.
A quick decoder on pricing method
Attained-age is the cheapest on day one and the most expensive at 80 — the headline premium is rarely the headline again ten years later. Issue-age locks the age at purchase; rate increases are shared by everyone in your age class, so the relative position is steadier. Community-rated — same premium for everyone in the area regardless of age — is the most volatile on the way up and on the way down if a younger pool enters. Knowing which one your quote is using is the single most useful thing you can ask the agent.
A note on AM Best ratings
A+ is the right default.
AM Best assigns financial strength ratings on a scale from A++ down to D. A Medigap plan covers claims decades into the future, so the carrier’s ability to pay — not just this year’s premium — is part of the price. A rated A+ carriers with the strongest ratings are typically the right default when prices are within a few dollars a month of each other.
05 · When a different plan is a better fit
When Plan G may not be the right pick.
High-deductible Plan G after underwriting challenges, people heavily served by a closed-network Advantage system, and very low-utilization beneficiaries on Plan N.
Plan G is the most-comprehensive Medigap plan available to new Medicare enrollees, but it is not always the cheapest on the year or the best fit for the situation. Three cases where a side-by-side is worth the conversation.
A different fit
High-deductible Plan G
If underwriting put you out of standard Plan G, high-deductible Plan G is often the same set of benefits behind a $2,800+ annual deductible (changes yearly). Same coverage in the end — but the cost shape is very different and worth sizing carefully.
A different fit
Heavy Advantage-network users
If all your providers, your pharmacy, and your hospital sit inside one tightly-run Advantage network — and you’re not going to travel or relocate — Advantage can bundle drug, dental, vision, and hearing for less total premium. The network is the requirement, and the trade here is one you have to actually hold.
A different fit
Very low utilization
If you see a doctor twice a year and take a generic statin, the small Plan B deductible on Plan N plus a modest copay at the visit (up to $20) and at the ER (up to $50) can land cheaper than Plan G. Both cover the same gaps except for Part B excess charges. Plan N doesn’t cover those.
The Medigap Open Enrollment window
The single most useful date to know is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — six months starting the day Part B becomes effective. During that window, a carrier cannot turn you down, cannot ask health questions, and cannot charge more for any pre-existing condition. Outside it, most states require underwriting and switching plans becomes a real conversation. This window is also the reason most people step back into Medigap at 65 — not at 72.
See the Georgia-specific Medigap comparison →Next step
Bring your providers, your drug list, and your zip code.
We pull real quotes from three to five top-rated carriers — same Plan G letter, same zip, same age — and walk through the trade-offs on a 30-minute, no-cost call. The question this page raised — pricing method, the foreign-travel add-on, the Medigap Open Enrollment window — we’ll size it up against your situation, not a generic script.
- · No cost. No obligation. Carrier-paid only after you enroll.
- · Independent — multi-carrier comparison, not a single plan sheet.
- · A real person on the call — and the same person next year.