Medicare Plan G has quietly become the default Medigap choice in America — the plan most new enrollees pick, and the one people research first when they're thinking about leaving a Medicare Advantage plan. The appeal is simple: it covers nearly every gap Original Medicare leaves behind, with exactly one exception. But "nearly every gap" is doing real work in that sentence, and the monthly premium varies more than most people expect. Here's precisely what Plan G pays, what it doesn't, what it runs in 2026, and the enrollment timing detail that matters more than the price.
📋Quick Summary
- Plan G is a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy that works alongside Original Medicare Parts A and B.
- It covers every gap Original Medicare leaves except the annual Part B deductible — $283 in 2026.
- That includes the $1,736 Part A hospital deductible, all hospital coinsurance, skilled nursing coinsurance, and the 20% Part B coinsurance.
- Plan G benefits are federally standardized: every insurer's Plan G covers exactly the same things, so price is the only real difference.
- Premiums vary widely by age, zip code, and insurer — commonly $100 to $300+ per month.
- Plan G does not include prescription drug coverage; you need a separate Part D plan.
- The six-month window after enrolling in Part B is when you can buy Plan G without medical underwriting — outside it, insurers in most states can charge more or decline you.
What Plan G Actually Pays For
Original Medicare covers a lot, but it leaves real gaps — deductibles, coinsurance, and a complete absence of any annual out-of-pocket ceiling. Plan G exists to close nearly all of them.
On the hospital side, Plan G pays the Part A deductible, which is $1,736 per benefit period in 2026 — and because that deductible resets with each new benefit period rather than once a year, someone hospitalized twice with enough time between stays can owe it more than once. Plan G covers it every time. It also covers the daily hospital coinsurance that starts at day 61 ($434 per day in 2026), the higher rate for lifetime reserve days ($868 per day), and then adds 365 additional hospital days beyond what Medicare itself covers, which matters enormously in a prolonged hospitalization where Medicare's coverage would otherwise run out entirely.
On the outpatient side, Plan G picks up the 20% Part B coinsurance that Original Medicare leaves you responsible for on doctor visits, lab work, imaging, and outpatient procedures. That 20% has no cap under Original Medicare alone, which is the single largest financial exposure in traditional Medicare — an expensive course of treatment can generate an unlimited 20% share.
Plan G also covers skilled nursing facility coinsurance ($217 per day for days 21 through 100), Part B excess charges (the extra amount a provider who doesn't accept Medicare assignment can bill, up to 15% above the approved rate), the first three pints of blood, hospice care coinsurance, and foreign travel emergency care at 80% up to plan limits.
The one gap it leaves: the annual Part B deductible, $283 in 2026. You pay that yourself before Plan G's outpatient coverage engages. After that, for Medicare-approved services, your costs are generally zero. For the underlying hospital math Plan G is absorbing, see what a 2026 hospital stay actually costs under Part A.
Sources: Boomer Benefits — Medicare Plan G; SelectQuote — Plan G coverage; Medicare.gov — Compare Medigap policy benefits.
Medigap plans are standardized by federal law. A Plan G sold by one insurer covers exactly the same benefits as a Plan G sold by any other insurer — the coverage is set by regulation, not by the company. What differs is the monthly premium, how that premium changes as you age, the company's financial stability, and its customer service.
This has a direct practical consequence: a higher premium does not buy better coverage. If two insurers in your zip code offer Plan G at $160 and $240 per month, you are looking at identical medical benefits at a $960 annual difference. Comparing multiple carriers before you enroll — or re-shopping if you've held the same policy for several years — can save real money without giving up a single benefit. That's a genuinely unusual situation in insurance, and it's worth exploiting.
What Plan G Costs — and Why Quotes Vary So Much
Because benefits are fixed, price is where the entire decision lives, and the range is wider than most people anticipate.
Nationally, Plan G premiums commonly run somewhere between $100 and $300 per month, with published averages for a 65-year-old landing in the $160 to $220 range depending on the source and survey method. But averages are close to useless here, because the actual number depends heavily on your zip code, your age, your gender in some states, tobacco use, and which insurer you choose.
The pricing method matters as much as the starting price, and it's the detail most people never ask about. Insurers use one of three approaches. Community-rated policies charge everyone the same premium regardless of age — some states, including New York and Connecticut, require this. Issue-age-rated policies set your premium based on your age when you buy, and it doesn't increase because you get older. Attained-age-rated policies start lower but increase as you age, which makes them the cheapest option at 65 and frequently the most expensive by 80.
If you plan to hold the policy long-term, asking each insurer which method it uses is arguably more consequential than comparing today's quoted premium. An attained-age policy that looks like a bargain at 65 can become the expensive choice over a twenty-year horizon — which is part of why 2026 Medigap premiums are climbing for long-time policyholders.
There's also a high-deductible version of Plan G worth knowing about. It carries the same benefits but requires you to pay $2,950 in Medicare-covered out-of-pocket costs in 2026 before the plan starts paying, in exchange for a substantially lower monthly premium. For someone healthy, financially prepared to absorb that deductible, and primarily buying Medigap as catastrophic protection, it can be a reasonable trade. For someone who uses care frequently, it usually isn't.
Sources: MoneyGeek — Medicare Supplement cost 2026; MedicareGuide — High-deductible Plan G 2026; PolicyGuide — Plan G costs 2026.
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Related timing context: Should You Switch Medicare Plans Before December 7? and Did You Lose Your 2026 Medicare Advantage Plan? Here's What to Do.
Plan G vs. Plan N vs. Plan F — the Honest Comparison
Plan G isn't the only option, and it isn't automatically the right one.
Plan F was historically the most comprehensive Medigap plan, covering even the Part B deductible that Plan G leaves. It closed to new enrollees on January 1, 2020. If you became eligible for Medicare before that date, you may still be able to buy it; if you became eligible after, you can't. This is why Plan G inherited the "most popular plan" position — it's the closest available equivalent.
Plan N is the meaningful alternative for current shoppers. It carries a lower premium than Plan G and covers most of the same gaps, but with three differences: you pay copays of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don't result in admission, and it doesn't cover Part B excess charges. For someone who rarely sees specialists, uses providers who accept Medicare assignment, and wants a lower monthly cost, Plan N can be the better value. For someone with frequent specialist visits or living in a state where excess charges are common, Plan G's broader coverage usually justifies the higher premium. Our side-by-side Plan G vs. Plan N comparison works through the math.
High-deductible Plan G, covered above, is effectively a third option in this comparison — same coverage as standard Plan G, much lower premium, $2,950 out-of-pocket before it engages.
The honest framing is that Plan G is the safest default, not the universally correct answer. It minimizes surprises and variable costs, which is why it dominates. But someone healthy who rarely uses care may genuinely do better with Plan N or high-deductible G, and it's worth running your own expected usage against the premium difference rather than assuming the most popular plan is the right one for you. If you're still weighing the two structures overall, see Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage in 2026.
Source: 2026 Medicare Supplement cost guide.
📊Plan G at a Glance — What It Covers (2026)
📊What Plan G Does Not Cover — and Key 2026 Figures
The Enrollment Timing That Matters More Than the Price
If you take one thing from this article, make it this: with Medigap, when you buy matters more than what you pay.
When you enroll in Medicare Part B at 65, a six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period begins. During that window, you have guaranteed issue rights — any insurer selling Medigap in your state must sell you any policy they offer, at their standard rate, regardless of your health history. They cannot charge you more for pre-existing conditions. They cannot decline you.
When that window closes, in most states the rules change fundamentally. Insurers can medically underwrite: review your health history, charge higher rates based on conditions, or decline coverage altogether. Someone who develops a serious health condition at 70 and then decides they want Medigap may find it unaffordable or unavailable — precisely when they'd benefit from it most.
A limited set of situations trigger guaranteed-issue rights outside that initial window. A Medicare Advantage plan being discontinued or leaving your area is the most common. Moving out of your plan's service area, or your plan violating its contract, can also qualify. And a handful of states — including New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine — have their own rules providing broader guaranteed-issue or continuous open enrollment protections. If you're in one of those states, your options are meaningfully better than the federal baseline.
This is why the "should I try Medicare Advantage first and switch to Medigap later if I don't like it?" plan is riskier than it sounds. The switch back is easy on the Medicare side and potentially blocked on the Medigap side. If Medigap is likely to be your long-term preference, the cleanest path is buying it during your initial window rather than assuming you can come back to it. A free SHIP counselor in your state can confirm your eligibility before you make a move, and our guide to switching before December 7 covers the sequencing.
Source: Medicare.gov — When to buy a Medigap policy.
Related Medicare Coverage Guides
- Why Is My 2026 Medigap Premium Going Up — And What Can I Do?
- Does Medicare Cover Hospital Stays in 2026? What You'll Actually Owe
- Should You Switch Medicare Plans Before December 7?
- Did You Lose Your 2026 Medicare Advantage Plan? Here's What to Do
- Why This September Medicare Letter Matters More Than Any Other
- Do You Qualify for Help With Your 2026 Medicare Premiums?
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