Medicare Supplement · Plan F
Medigap Plan F in 2026-2027: Full Coverage, If You Can Still Get It
Medigap Plan F is the most complete Medicare Supplement plan ever sold. It pays the gaps Original Medicare leaves behind: the $1,736 Part A hospital deductible per benefit period, the 20% Part B coinsurance that has no out-of-pocket cap on its own, and the $283 annual Part B deductible, a benefit no plan sold to newly eligible enrollees can include. For most Plan F holders, that means paying the monthly premium and almost nothing else when they see a doctor or check into a hospital.
Written by the licensed advisor team at Pinnacle Insurance Advisors · Last updated July 29, 2026
The catch is the closing date. Plan F can only be purchased by people who were first eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. If you became eligible on or after that date, you cannot buy Plan F at any price, and Plan G, which covers everything except the $283 Part B deductible, is the closest substitute. If you were eligible before 2020, you can still apply for Plan F today, though outside your original open enrollment window the insurer can usually ask health questions first.
If you have held Plan F for years and watched the premium climb, you have more options than many people realize. Every Plan F is federally standardized, so another carrier's Plan F is the identical product at a possibly different price. The real question is rarely whether Plan F coverage is good. It is whether you are paying the best available rate for it, and whether the extra premium over Plan G is still worth $283 a year to you.
Plan F fits you if…
- You were first eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, and want the most complete Medigap coverage ever sold
- You already have Plan F, like paying nothing at the doctor or hospital, and mainly want a better rate on the identical plan
- You see doctors or specialists often and would rather pay a known monthly premium than track deductibles and coinsurance
- You value simplicity: with Plan F there are usually few or no medical bills left over to sort out
What Plan F Covers
| Benefit | Plan G | Plan N | Plan F ★ | HD Plan G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A coinsurance and hospital costs (up to 365 extra days after Medicare benefits are used) | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Part B coinsurance or copayment | 100% | 100% after copays up to $20 office / $50 ER | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Blood (first 3 pints) | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Part A deductible | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Part B deductible | Not covered | Not covered | 100% | Not covered |
| Part B excess charges | 100% | Not covered | 100% | 100% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Foreign travel emergency (up to plan limits) | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% after $2,950 deductible (2026) |
| Out-of-pocket limit | None | None | None | None |
Plan F (including high-deductible Plan F) can only be sold to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Someone newly eligible today cannot buy Plan F, so this column is for comparison and for people who qualified before that date. High-Deductible Plan G covers the same benefits as Plan G, but you pay all Medicare-covered coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles yourself until you reach the plan deductible of $2,950 in 2026; after that the plan pays as shown. Plan N pays the Part B coinsurance in full except a copay of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that do not end in an inpatient admission. No standardized Medigap plan sold to newly eligible people covers the Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026. Medicare.gov shows the out-of-pocket limit as N/A for Plans F, G, and N, meaning these plans have no annual out-of-pocket cap of their own; Plans K and L are the only standardized plans with one. All dollar figures are the 2026 amounts from medicare.gov; CMS announces final 2027 figures in late September 2026. Foreign travel emergency coverage is 80% up to plan limits (per CMS publications, after a $250 deductible and up to a $50,000 lifetime maximum, for care during the first 60 days of a trip).
Plan F: Pros & Cons
Why people pick it
- Covers every gap a Medigap plan can cover, including the $283 Part B deductible that Plan G leaves to you
- First-dollar coverage: after the premium, routine doctor and hospital care typically costs nothing out of pocket
- Pays the $1,736 Part A hospital deductible per benefit period and the 20% Part B coinsurance, which has no out-of-pocket cap under Original Medicare alone
- Federally standardized: every Plan F has identical benefits, so you can switch carriers on price alone without losing anything
- See any doctor or hospital in the country that accepts Medicare, with no networks and no referrals
The trade-offs
- Closed to anyone who first became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, with no exceptions
- Typically the most expensive Medigap letter, and its closed, aging pool can mean faster premium increases over time
- If your Plan F premium runs more than $283 a year above a comparable Plan G quote, you are paying extra for a benefit worth less than that
- Switching later, whether to a cheaper Plan F or over to Plan G, usually involves medical underwriting outside your one-time open enrollment window
- No prescription drug coverage; you still need a separate Part D plan alongside it
What Plan F Costs
Every Medigap plan that shares a letter is standardized by federal law, so one company's Plan F pays exactly the same benefits as any other company's Plan F. The only meaningful difference is the premium, and premiums vary widely by carrier, your age, and the county you live in. Plan F adds one more wrinkle: because nobody who became eligible for Medicare after January 1, 2020 can join, its pool of members grows older each year, and a closed pool like that tends to see rates rise faster than plans still enrolling new retirees. That is exactly why long-time Plan F holders should re-shop the rate every year or two instead of quietly absorbing each increase.
Timing is the other half of the cost picture. During your one-time Medigap open enrollment window, which begins when you first enroll in Part B, insurers had to accept you regardless of health. Outside that window, an application for a cheaper Plan F or a move to Plan G usually goes through medical underwriting, so never cancel your current plan until the new one has approved you and taken effect. Keep in mind that the dollar figures on this page are 2026 amounts; CMS announces final 2027 figures in late September 2026. If you would like current Plan F rates for your area compared side by side, Pinnacle Insurance Advisors, an independent licensed agency in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, does that at no cost: call 1-877-826-0053.
One call compares every carrier's Plan F rate in your county. Free, and the premium is the same either way.
Plan F questions, answered
You can buy Plan F only if you were first eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Anyone who became eligible on or after that date cannot purchase Plan F, and Plan G is the closest available option. If you already have Plan F, you can keep it for as long as you continue paying the premium.
Compare related plans
Plan F does everything Plan G does plus the $283 Part B deductible, skips Plan N's copays of up to $20 per office visit and $50 in the ER, and carries none of High-Deductible Plan G's $2,950 annual deductible, but it is the only one of the four closed to anyone newly eligible for Medicare after January 1, 2020.
Plan G
Medigap Plan G covers nearly every gap in Original Medicare except the $283 Part B deductible. See what it pays, its trade-offs, and how to shop the rate.
Compare →Plan N
Medigap Plan N trades small copays, up to $20 office and $50 ER, for a lower premium than Plan G. Compare the two and see who Plan N fits best.
Compare →High-Deductible Plan G
High-Deductible Plan G pairs full Plan G benefits after a $2,950 deductible with typically the lowest premiums in Medigap. See how it works and who it fits.
Compare →Back to Medicare Supplement overview
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