Medicare Supplement Plans A Through N Explained

Original Medicare (Parts A and B) covers approximately 80% of approved medical costs but leaves beneficiaries responsible for deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance that can accumulate quickly during a serious illness or hospitalization. Medicare Supplement plans — sold by private insurance companies regulated in Arkansas by the Arkansas Insurance Department — fill those gaps, reducing or eliminating the out-of-pocket costs you'd otherwise owe.

Medigap plans are standardized by federal law: a Plan G from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arkansas covers exactly the same benefits as a Plan G from Humana or Mutual of Omaha. The only meaningful differences between the same plan letter from different carriers are the monthly premium and the company's financial strength and customer service reputation. This standardization makes comparison shopping straightforward — you are truly comparing apples to apples on coverage.

Medigap plans work alongside Original Medicare, not as a replacement for it. You must be enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Part B to purchase a Medigap policy. Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage (Part D) — you purchase that separately. And Medigap cannot be used with Medicare Advantage; the two are mutually exclusive.

In Arkansas, Medigap plans are available to Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older. During your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period (which begins the month you are both 65 and enrolled in Part B), insurers cannot deny you coverage or charge you more due to pre-existing conditions. Outside this window, medical underwriting may apply.

Medigap Plan A is the most basic standardized plan, covering only the core benefits that all Medigap plans must include: Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospital costs for up to 365 days after Medicare benefits are exhausted, Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayments, the first three pints of blood used in a medical procedure, and Medicare Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayments. Plan A does not cover the Part A deductible, the Part B deductible, or foreign travel emergencies.

For most Medicare beneficiaries, Plan A provides insufficient gap coverage — particularly given that it doesn't cover the Part A inpatient hospital deductible (a meaningful per-benefit-period deductible), which is the single most significant out-of-pocket exposure in Original Medicare. Plan A is the least purchased of all Medigap plans.

Medigap Plan B adds coverage of the Medicare Part A deductible to everything in Plan A. This is a meaningful improvement: you would not be responsible for the per-benefit-period hospital deductible, though you remain responsible for the Part B annual deductible and have no foreign travel emergency coverage. Plan B is less popular than Plans G and N but is a step up from Plan A in eliminating the most common large out-of-pocket expense.

Medigap Plan C was historically one of the most comprehensive plans available, covering Part A and B deductibles, coinsurance, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, and foreign travel emergency care. However, Plan C (along with Plan F) is no longer available to Medicare beneficiaries who enrolled after the Plan F cutoff. Those who enrolled in Medicare before that date and have Plan C or F may keep it; new Medicare enrollees cannot purchase it.

For those eligible under the older rules, Plan C remains a very comprehensive option. Its premium is typically higher than Plan G, reflecting the additional coverage of the Part B deductible.

Medigap Plan D covers Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, Part B coinsurance, the first three pints of blood, Part A hospice care coinsurance, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, the Part A deductible, and foreign travel emergency care. Plan D does not cover the Part B deductible. Plan D's benefit package is similar to Plan G — both cover the same items — but Plan D has historically been available to fewer beneficiaries and is less widely offered in the Arkansas market. Plan G tends to be more competitively priced given its greater market scale.

Medicare Supplement Plan F was the gold standard Medigap plan for decades — it covered every Medicare cost-sharing gap, leaving the beneficiary with virtually no out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-covered services. Plan F covers the Part B deductible (currently a small annual deductible), which Plan G does not. However, Plan F is no longer available to new Medicare enrollees who enrolled after the Plan F cutoff, and existing Plan F holders tend to see premium increases as the pool ages without new younger enrollees entering.

Medicare Supplement Plan G has become the most popular Medigap plan for new Medicare enrollees. Plan G covers: Part A coinsurance and hospital costs (up to 365 days beyond Medicare limits), Part B coinsurance or copayments, the first three pints of blood, Part A hospice coinsurance, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, the Part A deductible, and 80% of foreign travel emergency costs (up to lifetime limits). The only gap Plan G doesn't cover is the Part B annual deductible — a small annual deductible.

For most beneficiaries, Plan G is the right answer. The premium difference between Plan F and Plan G is often greater than the cost of the Part B deductible itself, meaning Plan G delivers better net value despite the uncovered Part B deductible. And Plan G's market scale — with all new Medicare enrollees funneling into it as the comprehensive option — keeps its premiums more stable than the aging Plan F pool.

In the Arkansas market, Plan G premiums from carriers like Mutual of Omaha, Humana, and United Healthcare are competitive and worth comparing. Premium for a 65-year-old in Little Rock varies by carrier, making the carrier comparison meaningfully impactful over time.

Plans K, L, M, and N are structured differently from Plans G and F — they use cost-sharing to keep premiums lower, making them appealing for beneficiaries who are healthy and want to pay less monthly while accepting some out-of-pocket exposure.

Plan K covers 50% of most cost-sharing gaps — the Part A deductible, Part B coinsurance, skilled nursing coinsurance, hospice care, and blood — with an annual out-of-pocket maximum. Once you reach the out-of-pocket maximum, Plan K covers 100% for the remainder of the year. Plan K's premiums are significantly lower than Plan G's, but you bear more risk in a high-utilization year.

Plan L is similar to Plan K but covers 75% of cost-sharing gaps instead of 50%, with a lower annual out-of-pocket maximum. It offers a middle ground between Plans K and G in terms of risk-sharing.

Plan M covers 50% of the Part A deductible and all of the standard Medigap benefits (excluding the Part B deductible and foreign travel). It's less common and not widely offered in the Arkansas market.

Plan N has become a popular alternative to Plan G for healthy Medicare beneficiaries. Plan N covers most gaps similarly to Plan G, but requires small copayments for doctor office visits and emergency room visits that don't result in an inpatient admission. Plan N does not cover the Part B deductible or Part B excess charges (rare in practice). Plan N's premiums are typically 15–25% lower than Plan G, making it worth considering for beneficiaries who don't visit the doctor frequently.

Choosing the right Medigap plan involves balancing predictability against cost. Here's a practical framework for Arkansas Medicare beneficiaries.

If you have ongoing health conditions that require frequent specialist visits, hospitalizations, or expensive procedures, Plan G is almost always the right choice. The premium certainty and unlimited out-of-pocket protection make it the most valuable plan for high healthcare utilizers. There is no surprise large hospital bill that disrupts your retirement budget when you have Plan G.

If you are generally healthy, don't see a doctor more than a few times per year, and are looking to minimize monthly costs while maintaining solid protection, Plan N is worth a serious look. The copayments are manageable, and meaningful premium savings over Plan G depending on the carrier and your age.

If you want the absolute lowest premium and are comfortable with more out-of-pocket exposure in exchange, Plans K or L provide structured cost-sharing with annual caps that prevent catastrophic exposure.

Regardless of which plan you choose, compare premiums from multiple carriers for the same plan letter — they cover identical benefits, so price and carrier financial strength are the differentiators. In Arkansas, an independent Medicare agent can pull quotes from all available carriers simultaneously, saving you significant time and often identifying premium differences of potentially several hundred dollars per year for identical coverage — a significant sum over time.