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Medigap Plan F vs Plan G
Written by My65 Playbook Editorial Team
Last reviewed
Medigap plans are standardized by federal law under 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss, so every Plan F is the same Plan F and every Plan G the same Plan G, whoever sells them. These two letters are nearly twins: their standardized benefits differ by exactly one item. What makes the comparison unusual is the door: Plan F is closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. So for many readers this page is not a choice at all — and for those who still hold Plan F, it is really a question about whether to stay.
How to think about this
First establish which reader you are. Newly eligible in 2020 or later: Plan F is simply unavailable to you, and Plan G is its modern equivalent — read our Plan G vs Plan N page for your live decision. Eligible before 2020: you may buy or keep Plan F, and the question becomes whether its single extra benefit — covering the annual Part B deductible — justifies its pricing dynamics. A closed plan's pool of insured people ages without new entrants, which tends to pressure its pricing over time relative to plans still open to newcomers. That structural fact, not the benefit itself, is what most people weighing F against G are really deciding about.
At a glance
| What changes | Plan F | Plan G |
|---|---|---|
| Who may enroll | Only those eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020 — the letter is closed to newer enrollees by law. | Open to anyone with Medigap eligibility. |
| The Part B annual deductible | Covered — the one benefit Plan G lacks. | Not covered; you pay it once a year, then coverage begins. |
| Everything else in the standardized benefit set | Identical to Plan G, as standardization requires. | Identical to Plan F, item for item, beyond that deductible. |
| The insured pool over time | Closed — no new entrants, so the pool ages together, which tends to pressure pricing. | Open — new enrollees keep joining, which tends to steady the pool. |
| Switching between the two | Moving to G later may involve health questions, depending on your state's rules. | Moving to F is only possible at all if you were eligible before 2020 — and may involve the same questions. |
Plan F
- You already hold Plan F, its pricing has stayed reasonable for you, and you value never seeing the deductible bill.
- You were eligible before 2020, prize first-dollar simplicity, and accept the closed-pool trade-off knowingly.
Plan G
- You became eligible in 2020 or later — Plan G is the equivalent choice that is actually open to you.
- You are comfortable paying the annual deductible once in exchange for a plan whose pool keeps renewing.
- You hold Plan F and its renewals have climbed enough that one predictable deductible looks better than the trend.
Watch out for
- The closed-pool dynamic is the real story of this page. A plan no newcomer can join ages as a group, and that tends to show up in renewal pricing over the years. Holding Plan F is not wrong — but hold it with that trend in view, and compare at renewal rather than out of habit.
- Leaving Plan F is a one-way door for many. Outside guaranteed-issue situations, switching Medigap plans can involve medical underwriting, and whether an insurer may decline you depends on your state. If your health has changed, get the answer for your state before setting anything in motion.
- Standardization means a letter's benefits cannot differ between companies — so comparing the same letter across sellers is purely a question of price and service. Anyone implying their Plan G covers more than another's is describing something other than the standardized benefit.
- Neither letter includes drug coverage. A separate Part D plan remains its own decision with its own timing rules, whichever letter you land on.
Common questions
- Why is Plan F closed to newer enrollees?
- Federal law ended first-dollar-coverage Medigap plans — those covering the Part B deductible — for anyone newly eligible from January 1, 2020. Those already eligible were grandfathered: they may keep Plan F or, in principle, still buy it.
- Is Plan G just Plan F minus the deductible?
- In standardized-benefit terms, essentially yes — that single item is the entire difference in coverage. Everything else the letters cover, they cover identically, because standardization under 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss fixes what each letter includes.
- I have Plan F now. Should I switch to Plan G?
- It depends on your renewals, your state's switching rules, and your health. The arithmetic is one annual deductible against the premium difference and the closed-pool trend — worth running with real quotes rather than in the abstract, and worth confirming whether underwriting would apply to you.
- Does high-deductible Plan F change this comparison?
- It is a distinct variant with its own structure and the same 2020 eligibility cutoff. The closed-door and closed-pool considerations on this page apply to it as well; the cost-sharing shape is different enough to price separately.