Free calculator
Medigap cost comparison
Plan G, Plan N and high-deductible Plan G all cover the same services and the same doctors. What differs is the premium and who pays first — so the only honest comparison is a full year of your own premiums and your own expected use.
- Your quoted premiums
- A full year
- Ranks all three
Run the numbers
Your premiums, your year
A year with each plan
Plan N — $1,811 a year
On these numbers Plan N costs least over twelve months. $293 separates it from High-deductible Plan G.
- Plan G — premiums + Part B deductible
- $2,033 a year
- Plan N — premiums + deductible + copays
- $1,811 a year
- High-deductible Plan G — premiums + deductible met
- $2,104 a year
- Plan N copays in that total
- $210 (8 × $20 office, 1 × $50 emergency)
- High-deductible Plan G deductible met
- $1,600 of $2,900
- Gap between cheapest and dearest
- $293 a year
All three cover the same Medicare-approved services and the same doctors. The difference is only who pays first, so a heavy year swings this comparison hard — run it again with a worse year.
How the totals are built
Three plans, three different first payers
Every total below is twelve months of premium plus whatever that plan leaves you to pay. Nothing else is guessed.
Plan G = premium × 12 + Part B deductible
Plan N = premium × 12 + Part B deductible + visit copays
High-deductible G = premium × 12 + the deductible you actually meet
The high-deductible column is the one that moves. In a quiet year it is usually the cheapest thing on the page; in a year with a hospital stay you meet the full $2,900 and it is usually the dearest. Run it twice — once for a good year, once for a bad one — and choose the answer you could live with.
What each plan actually covers
| Benefit | Plan G | Plan N | High-deductible G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A hospital coinsurance and 365 extra days | Covered | Covered | After the deductible |
| Part A hospital deductible | Covered | Covered | After the deductible |
| Part B coinsurance — the 20% | Covered | Covered, minus copays | After the deductible |
| Part B annual deductible | You pay | You pay | You pay |
| Office visit copay | None | Up to $20 | After the deductible |
| Emergency visit copay | None | Up to $50 | After the deductible |
| Part B excess charges | Covered | You pay | After the deductible |
| Skilled nursing coinsurance | Covered | Covered | After the deductible |
Before you switch
What people ask about supplements
No. A Medicare Supplement has no network at all. Any provider who accepts Medicare accepts any supplement, from any company, in any state. The only differences between the three are premium and who pays first.
Because Plan G is standardised by law, the benefit is identical whoever sells it — so the only things you are comparing are the price, the rate-increase history and the service. That is the whole reason this comparison is worth doing on price.
It is waived if you are admitted as an inpatient. The calculator counts every emergency visit you enter, so if you expect to be admitted, lower that number.
It is a trade. You take the risk of a bad year in exchange for a much lower premium. Run the calculator twice — once with a quiet year and once with the full deductible met — and see whether you could comfortably absorb the second answer.
The extra a provider may bill when they do not accept Medicare's approved amount. Plan G covers them; Plan N does not. They are rare in some states and banned outright in others, so ask locally before you weight it heavily.
2026 plan year
The figures this calculator uses
Sample figures for the 2026 plan year. Medicare and the Marketplace reset these every autumn.
- Part B deductible (2026 sample)
- $257 a year
- High-deductible Plan G deductible (2026 sample)
- $2,900 a year
- Plan N office copay
- Up to $20 a visit
- Plan N emergency copay
- Up to $50, waived if admitted
Every figure above is a sample for the 2026 plan year on a demonstration site. Medicare publishes the real ones each autumn at Medicare.gov, and they change every year.