There are a total of 10 Medicare Supplement Insurance plans. Each plan differs in terms of both coverage and rates.

Medicare Plans F and G are two of the most comprehensive of all supplemental insurance options for Medicare.

If you’re a newly enrolled Medicare beneficiary, you may be thinking about investing in supplemental insurance to offset the out-of-pocket expenses that Original Medicare doesn’t cover.

Because Medicare Plan F and G offer the most comprehensive coverage, you might be trying to decide which one – if either – is right for you.

What’s the difference between Plan F and Plan G?

Keep on reading to learn more so that you can determine if one of these Medicare Supplement Insurance policies is a good fit for you.

Also known as Medigap plans, Medicare Supplement Insurance policies are designed to cover the gaps that Original Medicare – Plan A and Plan B – don’t cover.

In other words, these insurance plans help to cover the out-of-pocket expenses that Original Medicare doesn’t cover, such as copays, deductibles, and coinsurance.

Medicare beneficiaries can purchase Medigap insurance through private insurance companies. There are a total of 10 subsidized Medigap plans that are named after letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N.

All plans with the same letter must offer the same benefits; however, premiums may vary, as they are set by the individual insurance companies that sell the policies.

At the beginning of 2020, eligibility requirements for Medicare Supplement Insurance changed. With this change, new Medicare enrollees were no longer able to purchase Plan F; rather, it is only available to beneficiaries who were eligible for Medicare prior to New Year’s Day, 2020.

New Medicare enrollees can, however, purchase Plan G, which is similar to Plan F. In other words, if you were eligible for Medicare benefits prior to the beginning of 2020 and you purchased Plan F, you are permitted to keep it.

Similarly, if you were eligible for federally-sponsored healthcare prior to January 1, 2020, but you didn’t enroll at that time, if you do sign up for Medicare, you may be able to purchase Plan F.

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The Difference Between Medicare Plan F and Plan G

The coverage that Medigap Plan F and Medigap Plan G provide are virtually the same; however, there is one distinct difference: the Part B Deductible.

What Benefits Are the Same?

The following are the benefits Plan F and Plan G offer:

•         Part A deductible
•         Part A inpatient hospital and coinsurance costs, up to an extra 365 days past the point when a beneficiary’s benefits were used.
•         Part A copayment and coinsurance for hospice care
•         Part B copayment and coinsurance
•         Part B excess charges for providers who do not participate in Medicare
•         Coinsurance for skilled nursing facility care
•         Blood transfusions for medical procedures; up to 3 pints
•         Emergency healthcare that is deemed medically necessary within the first 60 days of traveling abroad (deductibles and limits do apply)

What Benefits Are Different?

The primary difference between Medicare Plan F and Plan G is that Plan F covers all of the above, as well as the deductible for Medicare Part B; however, Plan G does not.

No one who became eligible for Medicare Supplement Insurance benefits after January 1, 2020 can purchase a Medigap policy that will cover the cost of the deductible for Part B.

Medicare Plan F costs more than Plan G, as Plan F offers more coverage. Because Medigap Plan F and Plan G offer the same benefits, the only exception being coverage for the Part B deductible, you might assume that difference in cost between these two plans would be minor.

While that may be the case in some instances (the monthly premium for Plan F might be $10 or $20 more than the monthly premium for Plan G, for example), sometimes, Plan F can cost significantly more than Plan G.

The private insurance companies that sell Medicare Supplement Insurance set the premiums for the policies they sell. Health insurance companies take several factors into consideration when determining premiums for Medigap coverage.

A beneficiary’s geographic location, sex, age, whether or not they are married, and whether or not they use tobacco products are just some of the factors that insurance companies may consider when setting premiums.

Furthermore, whether a beneficiary opts for a standard policy or one that has a high deductible will also impact the cost of coverage.

Medicare Plan F and Plan G Eligibility Requirements

You are only eligible for Medigap Plan F if you were eligible for Medicare benefits prior to January 1, 2020.

• Anyone who became eligible for Medicare benefits after January 1, 2020 is not eligible for Plan F.
• Anyone eligible for Medicare benefits, whether before January 1, 2020 or after, can purchase Medigap Plan G.

Which is Better: Plan F or Plan G?

One option isn’t better than the other, per se; rather, the plan that is right for you depends on your specific needs, including your budget.

With that said, however, if you are interested in purchasing Plan F but you did not become eligible for Medicare benefits until after January 1, 2020, you will not be able to purchase this Medigap coverage. You can, however, purchase Plan G.

Do note that if Part B deductible coverage is important to you and you purchased Plan F prior to 2020, you can continue to keep the Medigap plan.

While Plan G doesn’t cover the cost of the Part B deductible, because the premiums are lower, the amount you will save on this plan could offset the Part B deductible.