Medigap pricing confuses people because the product does not vary and the price does. Every Plan G sold in the United States covers exactly the same things by federal law. Medicare.gov puts it bluntly: price is the only difference between policies with the same letter sold by different companies.
So the useful question is not what Medigap costs on average. It is what the same letter costs from different carriers in your ZIP code, and what it will cost you at 80. The figures below come from two state insurance departments that publish actual filed premiums, pulled September 6, 2026: Maryland’s rate guide as of July 1, 2026, and Washington’s approved-plan chart current as of July 23, 2026.
Typical Monthly Medigap Premiums by Plan Letter
| Plan | Maryland at age 65 (low to high) | Maryland median at 65 | Maryland median at 80 | Washington, all ages 65+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan A | $108-$509 | about $280 | about $440 | $155-$375 |
| Plan G | $177-$498 | $247 | $394 | $233-$466 |
| Plan N | $112-$374 | $184 | $307 | $175-$294 |
| Plan F (pre-2020 eligibility only) | $194-$563 | $291 | $463 | $257-$514 |
| High-deductible Plan G | $47-$144 | $72 | $114 | $48-$71 |
Maryland figures are the range and median across every non-tobacco rate row in the Maryland Insurance Administration’s July 1, 2026 guide (88 Plan G rows, 84 Plan N rows). Washington figures are the age-65-and-older rows from the state insurance commissioner’s chart. Two structural things explain most of the difference between the columns: Washington requires community rating, so one price covers everyone 65 and up, and Maryland does not, so the same carrier charges more each year you age.
For a national comparison point, KFF’s analysis of NAIC data found the average monthly premium among all current Medigap policyholders was $217 in 2023, with Plan G averaging $164 and Plan F $274. Those are lower than the 2026 new-buyer medians above for two reasons: they are a 2023 vintage, and they include long-held policies bought at younger ages under issue-age and community rating. Treat KFF’s numbers as the average of what people are paying, and the state charts as the price of buying today.
The Four Things That Move Your Premium
1. The plan letter
This is the biggest single lever, and it is worth more than shopping carriers. Dropping from Plan G to Plan N saves about $63 a month at the Maryland median, roughly $756 a year, in exchange for copays of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that do not end in admission. Dropping to a high-deductible Plan G saves about $175 a month, in exchange for paying the first $2,950 of Medicare-covered costs yourself in 2026 before the policy pays anything. That $2,950 figure is set by federal law and is confirmed on Medicare.gov, on Washington’s chart and on Maine’s Bureau of Insurance rate page, which also flags that Plan F now costs more than Plan G by more than the $283 Part B deductible it covers, so Plan G is usually the better buy even for people still eligible for F.
Plans C and F are closed to anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, because plans sold to new enrollees can no longer cover the Part B deductible. Plans K and L cap your annual out-of-pocket at $8,000 and $4,000 respectively in 2026 and cover 50% or 75% of most cost sharing until you get there. See the letter-by-letter money pages: Plan G, Plan N, Plan F, and the head-to-head on Plan G vs Plan N.
2. Your age
In most states the premium climbs with you. In Maryland’s July 2026 filings, the median Plan G price at 80 is $394 a month against $247 at 65, and the median Plan N is $307 against $184. That is a 60% and 67% increase respectively, and it is separate from general rate increases.
3. Where you live
State rules and local medical costs drive a spread that dwarfs brand differences. Within Maryland alone, a 65-year-old’s Plan G quote ranges from $177 to $498 depending on the carrier and the rate class. KFF’s state data shows the same effect nationally: average Plan G premiums ranged from about $140 in Washington, D.C. and $141 in Hawaii and New Mexico to $236 in New York in 2023.
Smaller factors stack on top: tobacco use, gender (women pay less at most carriers), household or spousal discounts of around 7% to 12%, paying by automatic bank draft, and whether you qualified for a preferred underwriting class or a standard one.
4. The rating method
This is the one buyers miss, and it decides what the policy costs a decade from now. CMS names three methods in its official Medigap guide.
Community-rated (no-age-rated). Everyone pays the same premium regardless of age. Rates still rise with inflation, just not because you had a birthday. Nine states require it for policyholders 65 and older: Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington. Washington’s chart shows this in practice, listing a single Plan G price per carrier for all ages 65 and up.
Issue-age-rated (entry-age-rated). The premium is set by your age when you buy and never changes because of age after that. Buying earlier locks a lower base for life. One Maryland carrier’s issue-age Plan G is $269 a month for a 65-year-old buyer and $310 for a 75-year-old buyer, and the 65-year-old keeps their number. Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Missouri allow issue-age rating but ban attained-age rating.
Attained-age-rated. The premium tracks your current age and steps up every year. It is the cheapest way in and usually the most expensive way through. A Maryland carrier’s attained-age Plan G, male preferred class, is filed at $208 a month at 65, $245 at 70, $282 at 75, $316 at 80 and $347 at 85. Another goes from $281 at 65 to $502 at 80, a 79% increase, on top of whatever the carrier files as a general rate increase in those years.
Thirty-seven states and D.C. allow any of the three, which means two quotes that look $30 apart at 65 can be hundreds apart at 80. Ask which method a policy uses before you compare prices, not after.
What Medigap Does Not Pay For
Medigap fills gaps in Original Medicare. It is not a replacement for other coverage, and two exclusions cost real money.
It does not cover drugs. Medigap policies sold today cannot include prescription coverage, so you buy a Part D plan separately. The national base beneficiary premium for 2026 is $38.99 a month, standalone plans average about $36 per KFF, no plan may set a deductible above $615, and your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs is capped at $2,100 before catastrophic coverage takes over. If that cap still lands hard in January, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan spreads it across the year.
It does not cover your Part B premium. You pay $202.90 a month in 2026 for Part B regardless, and you must stay in Part B to keep the Medigap policy. High earners pay more, and if your income dropped since the tax year Medicare used, see how to appeal IRMAA.
CMS’s guide also lists what Medigap generally excludes: long-term care, vision and dental care, hearing aids, glasses and private-duty nursing. For those, see Medicare dental coverage and does Medicare cover long-term care.
How to Pay Less for Medigap
- Buy during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. The six-month window that starts the first month you are 65 and enrolled in Part B is the one time no insurer can medically underwrite you or charge more for your health. Miss it and the standard rate classes get replaced by underwritten ones, which in Maryland’s filings can more than double the price. Details in the open enrollment period guide.
- Compare the same letter across every carrier in your ZIP. This is the single highest-return hour you will spend. The spread within one state runs three to one for identical coverage.
- Ask for the rating method in writing. An attained-age quote that is $20 cheaper today is usually the more expensive policy by 75.
- Ask about discounts. Household, spousal, non-smoker and electronic funds transfer discounts are common and are usually not applied to the quote unless you ask.
- Price the high-deductible version. At a Maryland median of $72 a month against $247, high-deductible Plan G saves about $2,100 a year in premium and risks $2,950 in a bad year.
- Check whether you qualify for help first. Medicare Savings Programs can pay the Part B premium and, under QMB, your Medicare deductibles and coinsurance outright, which makes a Medigap policy unnecessary. Extra Help does the same job for drugs, and prescription assistance programs can cover specific drugs regardless of income program eligibility.
Bottom Line
Budget the Medigap premium as one of three line items, not as your Medicare cost. At the Maryland median a 65-year-old on Plan G is looking at about $486 a month all in ($202.90 Part B, $247 Plan G, about $36 for Part D), and the Plan G piece is the only one that will climb with age in most states. Before you commit, run the trade against the other route in Medicare Advantage vs Medigap, and read Medicare Advantage vs Original Medicare if you are still deciding whether you need a supplement at all.