Medicare terminology can feel like someone spilled alphabet soup across an insurance brochure. Part A, Part B, Plan F, Plan Gand somehow none of them includes a free decoder ring. For people comparing Medicare coverage in 2020, however, Medigap Plan G was one of the most important options to understand.
Plan G was designed to cover most of the deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments left behind by Original Medicare. It offered nearly the same benefits as Plan F, but it did not pay the annual Medicare Part B deductible. That small difference became especially significant in 2020 because people newly eligible for Medicare could no longer purchase Medigap plans that covered the Part B deductible, including Plans C and F.
So, how much did Medigap Plan G cost in 2020? There was no single national price. Monthly premiums could range from under $100 to several hundred dollars, depending on the applicant’s ZIP code, age, tobacco use, insurer, available discounts, and the company’s pricing method.
What Was Medigap Plan G in 2020?
Medigap, also known as Medicare Supplement Insurance, is private insurance that works alongside Original Medicare Part A and Part B. It does not replace Medicare. Instead, Medicare generally processes an approved claim first, and the Medigap policy then pays eligible remaining expenses according to the plan’s standardized benefits.
In most states, every standard Plan G policy had to provide the same core medical benefits regardless of the company selling it. A Plan G from one insurer therefore covered the same standardized expenses as Plan G from another insurer. The premium, customer service, discount structure, rate history, and financial strength of the company could still be very different.
This standardization made comparison shopping both easier and stranger. Two companies could offer practically identical medical coverage while sending quotes that looked as though they were pricing two completely different products.
How Much Did Medigap Plan G Cost in 2020?
Historical 2020 market examples showed just how widely Plan G premiums varied. Published quote ranges included approximately $119 to $270 per month in Atlanta, $94 to $195 in Des Moines, and $110 to $253 in the San Francisco area. These were illustrative market ranges rather than guaranteed prices for every applicant.
A separate 2020 price study found that a 65-year-old woman could see a monthly rate near $91.78 in one major market, while a rate in Manhattan could reach approximately $476.04. The study also reported that the lowest available price in each examined market was often less than half the highest price for substantially identical Plan G benefits.
| 2020 market example | Approximate monthly Plan G premium range |
|---|---|
| Atlanta, Georgia | $119–$270 |
| Des Moines, Iowa | $94–$195 |
| San Francisco area, California | $110–$253 |
These figures illustrate why an “average Plan G price” was only a starting point. Your actual premium depended on personal and geographic information. A neighbor across the street might receive a different quote because of age, sex, tobacco status, household eligibility, or enrollment timing.
Remember the Medicare Part B premium
The Plan G premium was not the beneficiary’s only monthly expense. In 2020, the standard Medicare Part B premium was $144.60 per month, although higher-income beneficiaries could pay more. The annual Part B deductible was $198. Plan G did not cover that deductible.
Consider an illustrative beneficiary paying $120 per month for Plan G:
- Plan G premium: $120 per month
- Standard Part B premium: $144.60 per month
- Combined monthly premiums: $264.60
- Combined annual premiums: $3,175.20
- Potential Part B deductible: $198
- Illustrative annual total: $3,373.20
That total would not include a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, dental care, routine vision services, hearing aids, long-term care, or other services not covered by Original Medicare and Plan G.
What Did Plan G Cover?
Standard Medigap Plan G was one of the most comprehensive supplements available in 2020. After Medicare paid its approved share, Plan G generally covered the following standardized expenses:
- Medicare Part A hospital coinsurance
- Up to 365 additional hospital days after Medicare benefits were exhausted
- The Medicare Part A inpatient deductible
- Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayments
- Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
- The first three pints of blood used in a covered procedure
- Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayments
- Medicare Part B excess charges
- 80% of qualifying foreign travel emergency expenses, subject to plan limits
For eligible foreign travel emergencies, Medigap plans such as Plan G generally paid 80% of certain medically necessary charges after a $250 annual deductible. Coverage applied when the emergency began during the first 60 days of a trip, and the foreign travel benefit carried a $50,000 lifetime limit.
What Plan G did not cover
Plan G was extensive, but it was not an all-purpose health, dental, pharmacy, and long-term-care superhero wearing a cape. It generally did not cover:
- The $198 Medicare Part B deductible in 2020
- Routine dental examinations and dental procedures
- Routine vision care and eyeglasses
- Hearing aids and routine hearing care
- Most long-term custodial care
- Private-duty nursing
- Outpatient prescription drugs
- Services that Medicare did not approve, unless specifically included as a Plan G benefit
Beneficiaries who wanted outpatient prescription drug coverage normally needed a separate Medicare Part D plan. A Medigap policy sold after 2005 could not include modern Part D prescription drug coverage.
Why Did Plan G Premiums Vary So Much?
1. Location
Insurance expenses, state regulations, medical costs, competition, and claims experience differed across the country. Even within one state, premiums could change by county or ZIP code. Moving from a rural area to a large city could produce a noticeably different quote without changing a single Plan G benefit.
2. Age
Some companies based premiums on the applicant’s age when the policy was purchased. Others used the beneficiary’s current age, allowing the premium to rise as that person grew older. Age therefore affected both the initial quote and, in some cases, future increases.
3. Pricing method
Medigap insurers generally used one of three pricing structures:
- Community-rated: Enrollees in a defined area generally paid the same base premium regardless of age.
- Issue-age-rated: The starting premium was based on the age at which the policy was purchased.
- Attained-age-rated: The premium was based on the beneficiary’s current age and could rise as the person aged.
Community-rated and issue-age-rated policies could still increase because of inflation, rising healthcare expenses, or changes in the insurer’s overall claims experience. “Not age-rated” did not mean “frozen forever.” Insurance companies are generous with many things, but permanent price freezes are rarely among them.
4. Tobacco use and sex
Depending on state rules and the insurer, tobacco users could pay higher premiums. Some insurers also used sex as a rating factor, often producing lower quotes for women than for otherwise similar male applicants.
5. Discounts
Companies sometimes offered household, married-couple, automatic-payment, or annual-payment discounts. Historical reports showed that household discounts could range from roughly 3% to 14%, although availability and qualification rules varied.
6. Medical underwriting
During a beneficiary’s six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, insurers generally could not reject the applicant or raise the price because of health problems. After that protected period, an insurer could use medical underwriting in many states unless the applicant qualified for a guaranteed-issue right or additional state protection.
Why Plan G Became More Important in 2020
January 1, 2020 marked a major Medigap transition. Federal rules prohibited Medigap policies sold to people newly eligible for Medicare from paying the Part B deductible. Consequently, newly eligible beneficiaries could no longer purchase Plans C or F.
People who had become eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020 could generally keep an existing Plan F or, where available and permitted, apply for one later. The restriction was based on the date of Medicare eligibility, not simply the date someone happened to begin shopping.
Because Plan G covered the same standardized benefits as Plan F except for the Part B deductible, it became the closest high-coverage alternative for many new beneficiaries. In 2020, that uncovered deductible was $198less than $17 per month when spread across a full year.
Standard Plan G vs. High-Deductible Plan G
In 2020, consumers could also encounter High-Deductible Plan G. It provided the same categories of benefits as standard Plan G, but the policy did not begin paying those benefits until the beneficiary had paid a specified amount of qualifying Medicare cost sharing.
The High-Deductible Plan G amount was $2,340 for calendar year 2020, excluding the policy’s monthly premiums. The deductible was indexed and could change in later years.
| Feature | Standard Plan G | High-Deductible Plan G in 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly premium | Generally higher | Generally lower |
| Plan-level deductible | No separate high deductible | $2,340 |
| Part B deductible | Not covered | Counts toward qualifying out-of-pocket spending |
| Best suited for | People prioritizing predictable expenses | People comfortable accepting more upfront risk |
For example, suppose a standard Plan G policy cost $150 per month and a high-deductible alternative cost $45. The annual premium difference would be $1,260. A healthy person with few claims might save much of that difference. Someone with substantial medical use could reach the $2,340 deductible and spend more overall. These figures are hypothetical, but they demonstrate the calculation shoppers needed to make.
Plan G vs. Plan F and Plan N
Plan G vs. Plan F
The main standardized coverage difference was straightforward: Plan F paid the Medicare Part B deductible, while Plan G did not. For people eligible to buy either policy, the practical question was whether Plan F’s additional annual premium exceeded the value of the deductible it covered.
If Plan F cost $40 more per month, that would equal $480 per year to insure a $198 deductible in 2020. In that example, Plan G would produce lower annual costs, assuming all other conditions were equal.
Plan G vs. Plan N
Plan N often had a lower premium than Plan G, but it required more cost sharing. Beneficiaries could owe copayments for certain office and emergency room visits, and Plan N did not cover Medicare Part B excess charges.
Plan G generally appealed to people who preferred paying a higher predictable premium in exchange for fewer bills after receiving Medicare-approved care. Plan N could appeal to people willing to accept modest copayments to reduce monthly premiums.
How to Compare 2020 Plan G Prices Correctly
- Compare the same plan letter. A Plan G quote should be compared with other Plan G quotes, not with an unrelated Medicare Advantage or Medigap plan.
- Request quotes for the same effective date. Rates can change, so quotes obtained months apart may not provide a fair comparison.
- Ask which discounts are temporary. A low introductory rate may become less impressive when a discount shrinks.
- Identify the pricing method. Find out whether the policy is community-rated, issue-age-rated, or attained-age-rated.
- Review historical increases. Past increases do not guarantee future results, but they provide useful context.
- Check household rules. Some discounts required another household member to purchase coverage from the same company.
- Confirm financial ratings and complaint history. Price matters, but dependable administration matters when a hospital bill arrives.
- Protect enrollment rights. Delaying an application beyond the protected enrollment window could lead to underwriting or denial.
Who Might Have Preferred Plan G in 2020?
Plan G could have been attractive to beneficiaries who wanted broad access to healthcare providers accepting Medicare, predictable medical spending, coverage of Part B excess charges, and less exposure to Medicare’s coinsurance requirements.
It could have been particularly appealing to people who traveled within the United States, consulted specialists regularly, managed chronic health conditions, or simply disliked the possibility of receiving a parade of small medical bills.
It was not automatically the best choice for everyone. A person with a limited retirement budget might have preferred Plan N or High-Deductible Plan G. Someone receiving comprehensive employer or retiree coverage might not have needed Medigap. A person enrolled in Medicare Advantage could not simultaneously use Medigap to cover that plan’s cost sharing.
A Realistic 2020 Plan G Shopping Experience
The following is an illustrative composite scenario based on common enrollment decisions. It is not a personal testimonial or the story of a specific beneficiary.
Imagine Linda, a 65-year-old nonsmoker preparing to retire in the summer of 2020. She had spent four decades working for an employer that handled most insurance decisions for her. Her previous enrollment strategy was simple: choose the plan her coworkers complained about the least. Medicare required slightly more homework.
Linda wanted Original Medicare because she traveled frequently to visit family in several states. She liked the flexibility of seeing any provider who accepted Medicare rather than checking a local network every time she packed a suitcase. Her first instinct was to purchase Plan F because a retired friend described it as the plan that “covered everything.”
She soon learned that she was newly eligible for Medicare after January 1, 2020 and therefore could not buy Plan F. Plan G became the closest available alternative. It covered the same standardized categories except for the $198 Part B deductible.
Linda requested Plan G quotes from five insurers. The lowest quote was $112 per month, two were near $130, another was $158, and the highest exceeded $200. At first, she assumed the expensive policy had richer benefits. After comparing the standardized benefit chart, she discovered that the medical coverage was essentially identical.
The differences were hidden in the pricing details. The $112 policy used attained-age pricing and included an enrollment discount that gradually declined. The $130 policy used issue-age pricing and offered a household discount because Linda lived with her spouse. The expensive carrier had a recognizable brand name and a gym-related perk, but the perk was not worth an extra $70 per month to her. She already owned a pair of walking shoes, and they did not charge membership dues.
Linda then compared standard Plan G with High-Deductible Plan G. The high-deductible policy had an appealingly low monthly premium, but she would have needed to pay up to $2,340 in qualifying expenses before the supplemental benefits began. Because she expected several specialist appointments and wanted stable expenses during her first retirement year, she selected standard Plan G.
Her final calculation included more than the advertised Plan G rate. She added the $144.60 standard Part B premium, the separate premium for a Part D drug plan, the possible $198 Part B deductible, and estimated dental expenses. This produced a more realistic retirement healthcare budget.
During her first medical appointment, Medicare applied part of the approved charge to the Part B deductible. Linda received a bill rather than assuming Plan G would pay it. After she satisfied the $198 deductible, Plan G generally handled the eligible Part B coinsurance on later Medicare-approved services.
The experience taught her several practical lessons. First, the lowest premium was not automatically the lowest long-term cost. Second, a famous insurance company did not provide more standardized Plan G medical benefits merely because its advertisements had better lighting. Third, enrollment timing mattered: applying during her Medigap Open Enrollment Period allowed her to buy coverage without being rejected or charged more because of her health history.
Most importantly, Linda stopped asking only, “What is the monthly premium?” Instead, she asked, “What will this coverage probably cost this year, how might the premium change, and how much financial risk am I accepting?” That broader question produced a much better decision.
Conclusion
Medigap Plan G costs in 2020 varied dramatically. Depending on location and applicant details, monthly premiums could fall below $100 or climb into several hundred dollars. The same standardized benefits could be sold at very different prices, making comparison shopping essential.
In addition to the Plan G premium, beneficiaries had to continue paying the Medicare Part B premium, which was $144.60 per month for most enrollees in 2020. They were also responsible for the $198 annual Part B deductible. High-Deductible Plan G offered lower premiums but required up to $2,340 in qualifying out-of-pocket spending before benefits began.
Plan G’s major strength was predictability. It covered most Original Medicare cost sharing, including the Part A deductible, Part B coinsurance, and Part B excess charges. Its main weakness was the ongoing premium, which could rise over time and did not include prescription drugs, routine dental services, hearing aids, or long-term care.
Note: This article describes historical Medicare and Medigap costs for calendar year 2020. Deductibles, premiums, insurer offerings, and state rules change over time. Consumers should verify current figures with Medicare, their State Health Insurance Assistance Program, their state insurance department, or a licensed insurance professional.