Here's the good news about comparing Medigap plans: they're standardized by law. Plan G from one carrier covers exactly what Plan G from another covers — only price and service differ. So the G-versus-N question comes down to precisely three differences and one piece of arithmetic. This page gives you all four.
Required disclosures: Smooth Health Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 0–78 organizations which offer 0–2,613 products in your area. The exact number of organizations and products depends on your ZIP code, county, and plan year. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1‑800‑MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Medigap benefits are standardized by CMS; this page is educational and does not recommend any specific carrier.
Both plans fully cover the big, scary stuff: the Part A hospital deductible and hospital coinsurance (plus 365 extra hospital days after Medicare's benefits end), the 20% Part B coinsurance that Original Medicare leaves uncapped, skilled-nursing coinsurance, Part A hospice coinsurance, three pints of blood, and 80% of foreign travel emergency care (up to plan limits). Both work at any hospital that accepts Medicare, nationwide, no networks, no referrals.
And one thing neither covers, since Plans C and F closed to newly eligible enrollees in 2020: the annual Part B deductible — $283 in 2026. You pay that yourself on either plan. Which means the real comparison is just three lines long.
| Plan G | Plan N | |
|---|---|---|
| Office & ER copays | None — after the $283 Part B deductible, covered care is paid in full | Up to $20 for some office visits; up to $50 for ER visits that don't end in admission |
| Part B excess charges | Covered | Not covered — the up-to-15% surcharge from non-participating doctors is yours |
| Monthly premium | Higher | Meaningfully lower — the gap varies by carrier, age, and ZIP code |
Also on the menu: high-deductible Plan G — much lower premium, but you cover the first $2,950 (2026) of costs yourself before it pays. A legitimate choice for premium-sensitive people comfortable with a real deductible.
They sound alarming and are mostly rare: the overwhelming majority of doctors accept Medicare's approved amount in full ("accept assignment"), and several states ban excess charges outright. Florida is not one of the banning states, so the exposure here is real but small in practice — worth knowing, rarely worth panicking over. If a specific specialist matters to you, one phone call — "do you accept Medicare assignment?" — settles it.
Ignore the internet debates; this is a math problem:
The G–N premium gap is the whole ballgame, and it varies widely by carrier and area — Florida's gaps often run wider than the national average, which is part of why Plan N has gotten popular here.
That's your guaranteed annual savings with Plan N — money you keep every year you stay healthy.
Count your typical office visits at up to $20 each (many preventive visits carry no copay at all) and any ER habits at up to $50. If that number is comfortably below the annual premium gap, N keeps money in your pocket; if you're in a specialist's office every other week, G's certainty may be worth the gap.
Your one-time 6-month Medigap open enrollment window is when either plan must take you with no health questions. Afterward, switching letters usually means underwriting. Pick the one you can live with long-term — then re-shop the carrier (not the letter) every few years, since the benefits are standardized but prices drift apart.
I'll pull both plans across the carriers filed in your area, show you the actual premium gap, and run the arithmetic with you — no cost, no pressure, and the math is yours to keep either way.
No cost. No obligation to enroll. We do not offer every plan available in your area.
It's more comprehensive, not automatically better. G buys certainty — after the Part B deductible, covered care costs you nothing more. N buys a permanently lower premium in exchange for small, capped copays and theoretical excess-charge exposure. Healthy people who rarely see doctors often come out ahead on N for years running; heavy utilizers often justify G. The arithmetic above decides it, not the adjectives.
Congress closed Plans C and F (the ones covering the Part B deductible) to anyone who became Medicare-eligible on or after January 1, 2020. If you were eligible earlier, you may still be able to buy F — though G is often the sharper buy even then, since F's closed pool tends to age and rise in price faster.
Generally yes — with age (depending on how the policy is rated), with inflation, and with claims experience. Since benefits are standardized, the smart maintenance move is re-shopping the carrier for your same letter every few years. In Florida that re-shop usually means underwriting, so it's easiest while you're healthy — another reason not to wait on a bad price.
A stand-alone Part D drug plan — no Medigap plan covers outpatient prescriptions, and skipping D without other creditable coverage builds a lifelong penalty. Dental, vision, and hearing are also separate; the ancillary guide covers those honestly.
That's the bigger fork in the road, and it comes first: Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap — how to actually decide. G-versus-N only matters once you've decided the Medigap path fits your doctors, travel, and risk tolerance.
The decisions around this one:
Important: Smooth Health Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 0–78 organizations which offer 0–2,613 products in your area. The exact number of organizations and products depends on your ZIP code, county, and plan year. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1‑800‑MEDICARE (1‑800‑633‑4227; TTY 1‑877‑486‑2048), or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Medigap benefits are standardized by CMS; premiums, availability, and underwriting practices vary by carrier, location, age, and individual circumstances. This page is for general education, reflects 2026 amounts published by CMS, and is not a complete description of benefits.