Medicare Supplement Plan G: 2026 Guide
By Tyler Dalton, PharmD, Licensed Medicare Agent Published Updated
Plan G is the most comprehensive Medicare Supplement available to people newly eligible for Medicare, covering every gap Original Medicare leaves except one: the Part B annual deductible, which is $283 in 2026. Pay that once each year and Plan G handles your share of Medicare-covered costs, with any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare.
What Plan G covers
A Medicare Supplement plan pays the portion of the bill that Original Medicare approves but does not pay. Plan G covers essentially all of it: the Part A hospital deductible, hospital and skilled nursing coinsurance, the 20% Part B coinsurance, Part B excess charges, and emergency care during foreign travel with plan cost sharing. The single exception is the Part B annual deductible.
What you pay with Plan G in 2026
| Cost that Original Medicare leaves to you | What you pay with Plan G |
|---|---|
| Part B annual deductible | $283, once per year |
| Part A hospital deductible ($1,736 per benefit period) | $0 |
| Hospital coinsurance, days 61-90 ($434/day) | $0 |
| Lifetime reserve days ($868/day) | $0 |
| Skilled nursing coinsurance, days 21-100 ($217/day) | $0 |
| Part B 20% coinsurance on doctor and outpatient care | $0 |
| Part B excess charges from non-assignment providers | $0 |
Read that middle column again with a bad health year in mind. A hospital stay, a skilled nursing recovery, and months of specialist follow-up would generate thousands of dollars of cost sharing under Original Medicare alone. With Plan G, the same year costs you $283 plus your premiums.
Why predictability is the whole point
Plan G converts an unknowable risk into a fixed monthly bill. Your out-of-pocket exposure for Medicare-covered care is a single deductible you can write on a sticky note, and your provider access is every Medicare-accepting doctor and hospital in the country, no networks, no referrals, no prior authorization from a private plan. For people who want to budget retirement healthcare down to the dollar, that combination is hard to beat, which is a large part of why the alternative path looks different, as our Advantage vs Medigap comparison lays out.
Why Plan G became the default for new enrollees
Plan F used to hold this spot, covering even the Part B deductible. But Plan F closed to anyone newly eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, so for today's new enrollee, Plan G is the top of the menu. The practical gap between them is exactly $283 a year in 2026, and G's pricing generally reflects that it attracts a broad, healthy pool of new enrollees.
Plan G versus the alternatives, briefly
G vs Plan N: Plan N charges a lower premium in exchange for cost sharing: up to $20 copays at office visits, up to $50 at the ER, and no coverage for Part B excess charges. If you rarely see doctors, N's premium savings can outrun the copays. If you visit often, G's math usually wins.
G vs High-Deductible G: HD-G is the same coverage behind a $2,950 deductible in 2026, at a much lower premium. You self-fund the first $2,950 of Medicare cost sharing each year; after that it behaves exactly like standard G. It suits people with cash reserves who want catastrophic protection at minimal monthly cost.
When to enroll
Your Medigap open enrollment window lasts 6 months from the day you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, every carrier must sell you Plan G at its best available rate with no health questions. Once it closes, Alabama applies standard medical underwriting: carriers can review your health history, charge more, or decline you. If Plan G is where you want to end up, the window is when to buy it. Enrolling later is possible, but approval is no longer guaranteed.
How Plan G is priced in Alabama
Benefits are standardized; premiums are not. Each carrier sets its own rates, and most Plan G policies sold in Alabama use attained-age pricing, meaning the premium is based on your current age and rises as you get older, on top of normal rate adjustments. A few carriers use issue-age or community pricing, which behave differently over time. Because every Plan G pays claims identically, the shopping decision comes down to premium, the carrier's rate-increase history, and pricing structure. Two carriers can quote meaningfully different prices for literally identical coverage, so comparing several before you buy is not optional homework, it is the entire decision. Our deeper dive on Plan G covers how we evaluate carriers.
Who Plan G fits
Plan G fits people who want the strongest available protection and are willing to pay a fixed premium for it: frequent travelers, people managing chronic conditions, and anyone who never wants to weigh a symptom against a copay. Dalton Insurance Agency will show you how Plan G prices out across carriers, alongside Plan N and HD-G, so you can see the tradeoffs in real numbers before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Plan G cover prescription drugs?
- No. Medigap plans, including Plan G, do not cover the medications you pick up at a pharmacy. You pair Plan G with a standalone Part D drug plan, which has its own premium and its own 2026 rules: a deductible of no more than $615 and a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs.
- Is Plan G the same from every insurance company?
- The benefits are, by law. Plan G is federally standardized, so a Plan G from one carrier pays claims exactly like a Plan G from any other. The differences are price, rate history, and service, which is why comparing carriers matters even though the coverage does not change.
- Can I be turned down for Plan G?
- Not during your 6-month Medigap open enrollment window, which starts when you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window carriers must sell to you at their best rate regardless of health. After it closes, Alabama carriers can medically underwrite, meaning they can charge more or decline coverage based on your health history.
- Why is Plan G more popular than Plan F now?
- Plan F is closed to anyone newly eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, so Plan G is the most comprehensive option available to new enrollees. The only difference between them is the Part B deductible, $283 in 2026, which F covers and G does not.
- Does Plan G cover dental, vision, or hearing?
- No. Plan G fills the gaps in what Original Medicare covers, and Original Medicare generally excludes routine dental, vision, and hearing care. People who want those benefits on the Medigap path buy separate standalone coverage for them.
- What bills will I actually see with Plan G?
- For Medicare-covered care, one: the annual Part B deductible of $283 in 2026. After that, Plan G pays the deductibles, coinsurance, and excess charges that Original Medicare leaves behind, so covered doctor visits, tests, and hospital stays generally arrive with nothing owed.
Want Plan G quotes from multiple carriers side by side?
Talk through your options with Tyler Dalton, PharmD, Licensed Medicare Agent. Consultations are free, and you keep the final say on every decision.