Medicare · Cornerstone
Medigap Plan N, the lower-premium option
Last reviewed June 11, 20264 min readBy the Goodsurance editorial team Reviewed by the Goodsurance editorial team
Plan N is the supplement people land on when Plan G feels like slightly more coverage than they need at slightly more than they want to pay. It is the other plan that comes up constantly for new enrollees, and the choice between G and N is one of the more common real decisions on the Original Medicare path. The two are close cousins; the differences are small, specific, and worth understanding before you choose on premium alone.
1What Plan N covers
Like every Medigap plan, Plan N is standardized, so a Plan N is a Plan N regardless of which company sells it. The benefits are fixed by federal law, and only the price and the carrier change. (For how standardization works in general, and the six-month window that governs all of these, the Plan G page covers the shared ground.)
Plan N covers most of the same gaps Plan G does: the Part A hospital deductible, the bulk of the Part B coinsurance, the daily coinsurance on long hospital and skilled-nursing stays, the first three pints of blood, hospice cost-sharing, and limited foreign-travel emergency coverage. In exchange for a lower premium than Plan G, it asks you to carry a few small costs yourself. That is the entire trade in one sentence: lower monthly premium, a little more cost-sharing when you actually use care.
2The three places Plan N differs from Plan G
This is what the lower premium buys, and it is worth knowing the specifics rather than discovering them at the doctor's office:
- A small copay at some office visits, up to a modest amount per visit. It applies to visits where you see the doctor; it does not apply to most preventive care.
- A small copay for emergency-room visits that do not lead to an admission. The nuance that softens it: if the ER visit results in your being admitted, the copay is waived. So the copay lands on the "went to the ER, got sent home" visits, not the genuine emergencies.
- The Part B deductible, which you pay yourself, the same as with Plan G.
And one more difference that is easy to miss: Plan N does not cover Part B "excess charges," the small amount non-participating providers can bill above the Medicare-approved amount, whereas Plan G does. Whether this ever matters depends heavily on where you live, because several states prohibit excess charges entirely. Where it is allowed, the exposure is usually small and avoidable by asking a provider whether they accept Medicare assignment, but it belongs in the comparison.
| Difference | Plan G | Plan N |
|---|---|---|
| Office copay | ✗ | Small copay at some visits |
| ER copay | ✗ | Small copay, waived if admitted |
| Part B excess charges | ✓ | ✗ |
Same standardized backbone; Plan N trades small copays for a lower premium. Source: CMS.
3How to choose between G and N
The honest way to decide is arithmetic, not instinct. Plan N's premium is lower, so the question is whether the premium savings over a year outweigh the copays and the excess-charge exposure you would take on. That depends on two things: how often you see doctors, and where you live.
Count your likely doctor visits: each one carries that small office copay. If you see doctors a handful of times a year, the copays consume only part of the premium savings and Plan N comes out ahead. If you are in and out of specialists' offices monthly, the copays can eat the savings, and Plan G's "pay the premium and almost nothing else" simplicity starts to win. There is also a temperament factor: some people simply prefer paying nothing at the point of care, and will pay a bit more in premium for it. Running your specific numbers, your expected visits, your state's rules, the actual quoted premiums, beats any general rule of thumb.
4The timing rule applies here too
Everything true about timing for Plan G is true for Plan N. Your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment window, starting when you enroll in Part B at 65, is when you can buy any plan without medical underwriting. After that window, in most states, a carrier can underwrite you, which can make the plan harder or costlier to get later.
This cuts both ways for the G-versus-N decision. If you choose N to save on premium and later decide you would rather have G's simpler coverage, that switch may require passing underwriting once your window has closed. It is not a reason to avoid N; it is a reason to make the G-versus-N call deliberately the first time, rather than treating it as something you can casually undo later.
Common questions about Medicare
Quick answers to common questions
Tap any question to expand. Each question links to a fuller standalone answer.
What is the difference between Medigap Plan N and Plan G?
Medigap Plan N usually has a lower monthly premium than Plan G, but in exchange you share a few costs that Plan G fully covers.
Both are standardized Medicare Supplement policies (private coverage that pairs with Original Medicare). With Plan N, after you meet the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), you pay a copay of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that do not lead to admission, and Plan N does not cover Part B excess charges (extra amounts some doctors can bill above the Medicare-approved rate). Plan G covers those excess charges and has no office or ER copays. So Plan N can save you money each month if you do not have frequent visits and your doctors accept Medicare's approved amount, while Plan G offers more complete coverage for a higher premium. The right choice depends on how often you see doctors and your budget.
What are Medicare Part B excess charges?
A Medicare Part B excess charge is an extra amount a doctor can bill above the Medicare-approved rate for a service.
This happens only when a provider does not accept Medicare assignment, meaning they have not agreed to accept Medicare's approved amount as full payment. By law, that extra charge is limited to no more than 15 percent above the Medicare-approved amount, and some states ban excess charges entirely. Excess charges matter when choosing a Medigap policy (Medicare Supplement, private coverage that pairs with Original Medicare) because some plans cover them and some do not. For example, Medigap Plan G covers Part B excess charges, while Medigap Plan N does not, leaving you to pay them. Many doctors do accept assignment, so excess charges may never affect you, but if you see providers who do not, the difference between plans can matter.
Does Medigap Plan N include prescription drug coverage?
No.
Medigap Plan N (a Medicare Supplement policy that pairs with Original Medicare) does not include prescription drug coverage. No standardized Medigap policy sold today includes drug coverage, so if you have Plan N and want help with prescriptions, you add a separate Part D drug plan. Plan N is designed to fill gaps in Original Medicare for hospital and medical costs, such as coinsurance, but drugs you pick up at the pharmacy fall under Part D, which is a different type of coverage. In 2026, Part D also includes a yearly out-of-pocket cap of $2,100 on covered prescription drugs. When pairing Plan N with a Part D plan, check that plan's drug list to confirm your medications are covered. Keeping the two pieces separate, a Medigap policy for medical gaps and a Part D plan for prescriptions, is the standard approach with Original Medicare.
What does Medigap Plan G cover?
Medigap Plan G (a Medicare Supplement policy that pairs with Original Medicare) covers most of the gaps Original Medicare leaves behind.
After you pay the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), Plan G covers your Part A hospital coinsurance and costs, the 20 percent Part B coinsurance for doctor and outpatient services, the first three pints of blood, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, hospice coinsurance, and Medicare Part B excess charges (extra amounts some doctors can bill above the Medicare-approved rate). It also includes foreign travel emergency coverage up to plan limits. The one major gap Plan G does not cover is that Part B deductible, which you pay yourself. Plan G does not include prescription drug coverage, so you would add a separate Part D plan. Because Plan G is standardized, its benefits are the same across insurers; only the premium and service differ.
What is the difference between Medigap Plan G and Plan F?
The only difference between Medigap Plan G and Plan F is that Plan F also covers the Part B deductible, while Plan G does not.
Both are Medicare Supplement policies (private coverage that pairs with Original Medicare) and are standardized, so their other benefits are identical: each covers the Part A and Part B coinsurance, hospital costs, blood, skilled nursing coinsurance, hospice coinsurance, Part B excess charges, and foreign travel emergency coverage. With Plan G, you pay the Part B deductible yourself, which is $283 in 2026. With Plan F, the plan covers that $283 for you. Plan F is no longer available to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020; those folks can choose Plan G instead. When comparing the two, weigh the Plan F premium against the single $283 deductible that Plan G leaves you to pay.
When can I buy a Medigap policy?
The best time to buy a Medigap policy (Medicare Supplement, private coverage that pairs with Original Medicare) is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period, a six-month window that begins the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.
During this one-time window, an insurer must sell you any Medigap policy it offers at its best available rate and cannot deny you or charge more because of your health, a protection called guaranteed issue. Once those six months pass, you can still apply for Medigap at any time of year, but outside this window the insurer can review your health history and may charge more or decline you, depending on your state's rules. Some states and certain situations offer additional guaranteed-issue rights. Because timing affects both price and acceptance, this six-month window is the simplest path. To review your timing, reach out to a licensed Goodsurance advisor at 1-888-301-8091 (TTY 711), Mon to Fri 8 am to 5 pm PT.
Is there a high-deductible version of Medigap Plan G?
Yes.
High-deductible Plan G is a version of the standardized Medigap Plan G (Medicare Supplement, private coverage that pairs with Original Medicare) that charges a lower monthly premium in exchange for you paying a yearly deductible before the policy starts covering the gaps. In 2026, that high-deductible amount is $2,950. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered services reaches $2,950 for the year, high-deductible Plan G then pays the same gaps that regular Plan G covers, such as Part A and Part B coinsurance and Part B excess charges. The trade-off is straightforward: you accept more upfront cost in a year you use a lot of care, in return for a lower premium every month. Whether the lower premium outweighs the deductible depends on how much care you expect to use and your budget. Like standard Plan G, it does not include drug coverage, so you would add a separate Part D plan.
References
- Medicare.govThe standardized Medigap benefit chart and Plan N specifics.
- CMS, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFederal Medigap standardization and Open Enrollment rules. cms.gov
- Medicare Rights CenterIndependent supplement guidance. medicarerights.org