Medigap Plan G Explained: What It Covers and Costs

Medigap Plan G is a Medicare Supplement policy that pays almost everything Original Medicare leaves behind. Once you pay the yearly Part B deductible, $283 in 2026, Plan G pays the rest of your share of Medicare-approved costs for the year: the Part A hospital deductible, the 20% Part B coinsurance, Part B excess charges and more. Jackie has long described it as the plan with "the most bang for your buck": it is just like Plan F except that it does not pay the Part B deductible. For anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, Plan G is the most complete supplement you can buy. This guide explains what it covers, what it does not, how the high deductible version works, and how to time your purchase in New Jersey.

The short answer

A Medicare Supplement (also called Medigap) is a private insurance policy that works alongside Original Medicare, Parts A and B. Medicare pays its share of an approved bill first, then your supplement pays some or all of what is left. Plan G is one of the standardized plan letters. Because the letters are set by federal rules, a Plan G from one insurance company has exactly the same medical benefits as a Plan G from any other. What differs is the monthly premium, how the company prices it over time, and the company itself.

With Plan G, your medical costs for the year are close to predictable: the monthly premium, plus the Part B deductible once a year. You can see any doctor or hospital in the country that accepts Medicare, with no network and no referrals.

What Plan G pays

Plan G covers these at 100% after the yearly Part B deductible, except the foreign travel benefit (Medicare.gov standardized Medigap chart):

• The Part A deductible: $1,736 for each benefit period in 2026 (CMS). A benefit period starts when you are admitted to a hospital and ends after you have been out of the hospital or skilled nursing care for 60 days in a row, so you can owe it more than once a year without a supplement.
• Part A hospital coinsurance, plus hospital costs for up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up. In 2026, Medicare charges $434 a day for days 61 to 90 of a hospital stay and $868 a day for lifetime reserve days (CMS).
• Part B coinsurance or copayments: the 20% Medicare leaves you for doctor visits, surgery, lab work, imaging, chemotherapy, dialysis and other outpatient care.
• Part B excess charges: the extra amount, up to 15% above the Medicare-approved amount, that a doctor who does not accept Medicare assignment can bill you.
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance: $217 a day for days 21 to 100 in 2026 (CMS).
• Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment.
• The first three pints of blood used in an approved medical procedure.
• 80% of a foreign travel emergency, up to plan limits.

What Plan G leaves you to pay

• The monthly Plan G premium.
• The Part B deductible: $283 in 2026. CMS announces the 2027 amount around November 2026.
• Your Part B premium to Medicare: $202.90 a month in 2026 for most people, more with higher income (IRMAA).
• Prescription drugs at the pharmacy. Medigap policies sold today do not include drug coverage, so you add a standalone Part D plan.
• Anything Medicare itself does not cover: routine dental care, eyeglasses and contact lenses, routine hearing exams and hearing aids, and long-term custodial care.

Plan G next to Plan F and Plan N

Source: 2026 Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles.

High deductible Plan G

A high deductible version of Plan G is also sold. It pays the same benefits as Plan G, but only after you have paid a yearly deductible set by CMS: $2,950 in 2026, rising to $3,050 on January 1, 2027 (CMS). Until you reach it, you pay Medicare's cost sharing yourself. The trade is a much lower monthly premium.

High deductible Plan G can suit someone who is healthy, has savings set aside for a bad year, and wants protection against a large hospital or cancer bill rather than help with small ones. It is a poor fit if a tight monthly budget would make a sudden $3,050 hard to pay.

A simple way to think about the cost

Illustration only, not a quote. Picture a year with a three-day hospital stay, a follow-up surgery as an outpatient, and regular doctor visits. Under Original Medicare alone you would owe the $1,736 Part A deductible, the $283 Part B deductible, and 20% of every Part B bill, with no yearly limit. With Plan G you would owe the $283 Part B deductible and nothing more for those Medicare-approved services. That predictability is what you buy with the premium.

Because the benefits are identical from company to company, the useful comparison is premium against premium for your age, ZIP code, sex and tobacco status, and how each company has priced the plan over time. Jackie gathers those numbers for you.

When to buy Plan G in New Jersey

Your strongest right to buy any supplement is your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period. It starts the first day of the month you are 65 or older and signed up for Part B (Medicare.gov). During it, no company can turn you down or charge you more because of your health. After it ends, there is no federal guarantee a company will sell you a policy, and New Jersey has no birthday rule or yearly switching window (NAIC state chart, May 11, 2026). Outside a guaranteed issue situation, a company can ask health questions.

If you are under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability, New Jersey requires companies to offer at least Plan D, not Plan G. Plan G becomes open to you when your new six-month window starts at 65. Our guide to Medigap rules in New Jersey covers each window.

What Jackie checks for you

• That Plan G (or high deductible G) is the right letter for how you use care, compared side by side with Plan N.
• Current Plan G premiums for your ZIP code, age and sex from the companies she is appointed with, and how each one prices the policy as you age.
• Household discounts and any one-time application fee (some companies charge one).
• That your application lands inside your open enrollment window, or that you have a guaranteed issue right, so no health questions apply.
• A Part D plan that covers your prescriptions, starting the same day as your supplement.

Questions to ask before you buy

• Is this premium priced by attained age, issue age or community rating?
• How has this company's Plan G premium changed over the last few years?
• Is there a household discount or an application fee?
• If I am outside my open enrollment window, is there a pre-existing condition waiting period?
• Does the company file claims automatically with Medicare (crossover), so I do not have to send paperwork?

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The bottom line

Plan G gives you close to predictable medical costs for a monthly premium, leaving only the Part B deductible each year. If you will want a supplement, buy it during your six-month window, then compare companies, because the benefits are the same and only the price and the company differ. Jackie can price Plan G and Plan N side by side for your ZIP code at no cost: call or text (856) 727-4221.