Medicare Supplement

Medicare Supplement letters explained for Lakewood readers

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — If you're new to Medicare, or helping a parent sort through the mail, you've probably run into the term "Medigap." It sounds like jargon, but the idea behind it is simple: Original Medicare doesn't pay for everything, and Medigap is one way to help cover what's left.

Here's a plain-English guide to what Medicare Supplement insurance does, how the standardized letter plans work, and where to get help in Jefferson County, which includes Lakewood.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medicare Supplement Insurance, often called Medigap, is private insurance that works alongside Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). It helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles.

A few things Medigap is not:

• It is not the same as a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C). You can't have both at the same time.
• It does not include prescription drug coverage. For that, you'd add a separate Part D plan.
• It does not typically cover routine dental, vision, hearing aids, or long-term care.

You must be enrolled in Part A and Part B to buy a Medigap policy. You pay the private insurer a monthly premium in addition to your Part B premium.

How the standardized letters work

This is the part that trips people up. Medigap policies are labeled with letters — Plan A, B, D, G, K, L, M, and N are the ones sold today. (Plans C and F are still held by people who became eligible for Medicare before Jan. 1, 2020, but they're no longer sold to newly eligible enrollees.)

Here's the key point: Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G sold by one company covers the exact same core benefits as a Plan G sold by another company. The differences between insurers come down to price, customer service, and extras — not the underlying benefits.

The letters cover different combinations of things like:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and hospital costs after Medicare benefits are used up
• Part B coinsurance or copayments
• The first three pints of blood
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• Part A and Part B deductibles (varies by letter)
• Foreign travel emergency care (in some plans)

Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin standardize their Medigap plans a bit differently, but Colorado follows the standard federal framework.

When to enroll — and why timing matters

The best window to buy a Medigap policy is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period: the six months that begin the first day of the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.

During that window, insurers can't turn you down or charge you more because of your health history. Outside that window, in most states, insurers can use medical underwriting — meaning they can review your health and either raise your rate or decline your application. Colorado has some additional protections in certain situations, but the six-month window is still the safest time.

If you're weighing Medigap versus a Medicare Advantage plan, know that switching later isn't always easy. That's why it pays to slow down and ask questions before you sign.

How Medigap fits with Part D and the 2026 changes

Because Medigap doesn't cover prescriptions, most people who choose Medigap also enroll in a stand-alone Part D drug plan. A few 2026 numbers worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026. Once your drug spending hits that limit, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap (the "donut hole") has been eliminated as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs over the calendar year in monthly payments, at no extra cost.
• IRMAA — an income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D — kicks in above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

These figures come from the Medicare program itself and apply nationwide.

What's available around Lakewood

Lakewood is in Jefferson County, where a range of private insurers sell Medigap policies. Because the benefits are standardized by letter, the practical work of shopping is comparing premiums for the same letter plan across companies, and asking about how each insurer sets and raises rates over time.

You can see the Medigap policies offered in your ZIP code — along with each company's contact information — using the plan finder at medicare.gov.