Medicare Supplement

Rock Springs Medicare: the role Medigap plays in costs

If you live in Rock Springs and have Original Medicare, you've probably heard the words "Medigap" or "Medicare Supplement" and wondered what they really do. The short answer: Medigap helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) leaves behind — things like coinsurance, copayments, and some deductibles.

Rock Springs, Wyo. — Making sense of the letters on a Medigap chart

Medigap does not replace Medicare. It works alongside it. And it doesn't cover prescription drugs — that's what Part D is for.

Here's a plain-English look at how these policies are built, what they cover, and what to watch for before you enroll.

What Medigap is — and what it isn't

Medigap is private insurance sold by companies licensed in Wyoming. You pay a monthly premium to the insurer, on top of your Part B premium, and in return the policy picks up part of your share of Medicare-approved costs.

A few key points from Medicare.gov:

• Medigap only works with Original Medicare. If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can't use a Medigap policy with it.
• Medigap policies sold today do not include drug coverage. For prescriptions, you'd add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• Each Medigap policy covers one person. Spouses need their own policies.
• As long as you pay the premium, the policy is guaranteed renewable — the insurer can't drop you because your health changes.

How the standardized letters work

This is the part that trips up a lot of people. In most states, including Wyoming, Medigap plans are standardized and labeled with letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. (Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before Jan. 1, 2020.)

Standardization means Plan G from one company covers the exact same Medicare-approved costs as Plan G from another company. The difference is the price and the customer service — not the benefits.

The letters generally cover some mix of:

• Part A hospital coinsurance and an extra 365 days of hospital coverage after Medicare benefits end
• Part B coinsurance or copayment
• The first three pints of blood each year
• Part A hospice care coinsurance
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• Part A deductible
• Part B deductible (only on older Plan C and Plan F)
• Part B "excess charges" (on some letters)
• Foreign travel emergency care, up to plan limits (on some letters)

Plans K and L work differently — they use cost-sharing percentages and have a yearly out-of-pocket limit, after which the plan pays 100% of covered services for the rest of the year.

To compare letter-by-letter, Medicare.gov has a side-by-side chart at medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap.

What Medigap does not cover

Even the most comprehensive Medigap letter leaves some things out. Medigap generally does not cover:

• Prescription drugs (add a Part D plan)
• Long-term custodial care (help with bathing, dressing, eating over long periods)
• Routine dental, vision, or hearing care
• Hearing aids
• Eyeglasses
• Private-duty nursing

Those gaps are real, and it's worth planning for them separately.

Timing matters — especially your Medigap Open Enrollment window

This is the single most important thing to understand before shopping.

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time, six-month window that starts the month you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, you have a guaranteed right to buy any Medigap policy sold in Wyoming, at the best available rate for your age, regardless of your health history.

Outside that window, insurers in most cases can use medical underwriting — they can ask health questions, charge more, or turn you down. There are limited "guaranteed issue" situations (for example, if certain other coverage ends), but the safest time to shop is during that first six-month window.

This is separate from Medicare's fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7), which is for Part D and Medicare Advantage changes — not Medigap.

How Medigap fits with the rest of Medicare in 2026

A quick refresher on the moving pieces for 2026, straight from Medicare:

• Part D has a new $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D premiums begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Medigap doesn't change any of those Part D rules — but knowing them helps you see where Medigap fits and where it doesn't.

What's available around Rock Springs

Rock Springs is in Sweetwater County, where Medigap policies are sold by private insurers licensed in Wyoming. Availability and pricing can vary by carrier, so it's worth comparing multiple companies for the same lettered plan. The Wyoming Department of Insurance and Medicare.gov both publish lists of insurers that sell Medigap in the state.

If you're weighing Medigap vs. a Medicare Advantage plan, remember they work very differently: Advantage plans bundle Part A, Part B, and usually Part D into one plan with a network, while Medigap sits on top of Original Medicare and lets you see any provider that accepts Medicare.