Connecticut Medigap: Guaranteed Issue Year-Round (2026)

Connecticut gives Medicare Supplement (Medigap) buyers a protection federal law doesn't: you can buy or switch a policy any time of year, and an insurer can't turn you down because of your health. Connecticut, like New York, requires Medigap coverage to be sold on a guaranteed-issue basis year-round and priced by community rating, so your age, gender, and health cannot change what you pay.1,2 This guide explains how Connecticut's year-round guaranteed-issue and community-rating rules work, how the standardized lettered plans fit together, which plans are closed to people new to Medicare, and who regulates Medigap in the state.3

How Medigap works in Connecticut

A Medigap policy is private insurance that pays the deductibles and coinsurance Original Medicare leaves to you. Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance) works only alongside Original Medicare, not with a Medicare Advantage plan, and each policy covers one person, so a married couple who both want coverage need two separate policies.3,4

Connecticut uses the federal standardized framework. Medigap is sold as lettered plans, A-D, F, G, and K-N, and the benefits inside each letter are fixed by federal rule, so a Plan G from one Connecticut insurer covers exactly what a Plan G from another covers. Plans E, H, I, and J are no longer sold, though anyone who already holds one can generally keep it.3 Insurers compete on price, service, and rate stability, not on what the plan pays. That makes the plan letter your first decision and the insurer your second.

The gaps Medigap closes are real. After the annual Medicare Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026, Original Medicare pays 80% of the approved amount for most outpatient care and leaves you the other 20%, and there's no yearly limit on what you pay out of pocket unless you have supplemental coverage such as Medigap. Part A adds an inpatient hospital deductible of $1,736 per benefit period in 2026, and that deductible can apply more than once in a year: a benefit period ends once you've gone 60 days in a row without inpatient hospital or skilled nursing facility care, so a later admission starts a new one with its own deductible. Medigap is that supplemental coverage.5

Connecticut's year-round guaranteed issue and community rating

Connecticut's standout protection is that Medigap is available on a guaranteed-issue basis at all times. Under Connecticut law, an insurer may not issue a Medigap policy based on an applicant's age, gender, previous claims history, or medical condition, and premiums must be set on a community rate that isn't based on any of those things. Connecticut's SHIP, CHOICES, adds that you can enroll at any point in the year by contacting the plan directly.1 The age-blind, health-blind pricing rule is called community rating.

The guarantee is narrower if you're under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability. CHOICES says you can buy Plan A, B, or D (or Plan C if you're eligible for it): every company must offer Plan A, and a company that also sells Plan B, C, or D must offer it to you too. Plans G and N aren't on that under-65 list; CHOICES' plan chart shows the other lettered plans as available to applicants over age 65.1

The practical value is large. Under federal law alone, your protected time to buy Medigap is a one-time, six-month window that starts the first month you're both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. It doesn't repeat, and switching later can require you to pass medical underwriting.2 In Connecticut, that pressure is removed: you can shop and switch carriers any time of year, and a new diagnosis cannot be used to deny you or raise your rate.1 Because pricing is community-rated, two 80-year-olds and two 65-year-olds pay the same premium for the same plan from the same insurer.

There is one limit to know. Connecticut law lets a policy exclude benefits for a pre-existing condition for losses in the first six months of coverage, and CHOICES says that waiting period can apply if you're 65 or older and didn't have employer health insurance, a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage (MA-PD), or Medigap coverage within 63 days before your Medigap enrollment. The guaranteed-issue right itself, however, does not depend on your health.1

How to buy or switch in Connecticut

Because there is no annual window to wait for, the steps are simple, but the order still matters.1

Because the benefits inside a letter are standardized, a switch at the same letter changes your premium and insurer, not your coverage.

Plan G and Plan N: the common choices

For someone 65 or older and newly eligible for Medicare, the practical choice in Connecticut narrows to two plans.1

Plan G is still available to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, the date Plans C and F closed to the newly eligible. It covers the same benefits as Plan F except the annual Part B deductible: the Part A hospital deductible, Part A and Part B coinsurance, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, and Part B excess charges.2 After you pay that one Part B deductible for the year, a Plan G holder generally has no further cost-sharing on Medicare-covered services in the United States. Foreign travel emergency care is the exception: Plan G covers it at 80% up to plan limits.

Plan N covers the same major gaps but shifts a little cost back to you. It pays the Part B coinsurance except for a copay of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency-room visits that do not lead to an inpatient admission, and it does not cover Part B excess charges.3 In exchange, Plan N premiums are usually lower than Plan G premiums.

Plans F and G are also sold with a high-deductible option in some states, so ask an insurer whether it offers one before you count on it. Where the high-deductible option is sold, you pay covered costs yourself until you meet a plan deductible of $2,950 in 2026, after which the policy pays, plus a separate $250-a-year deductible for foreign travel emergency care. High-deductible Plan F is open only to people who can still buy Plan F at all.3 The trade is a much lower monthly premium in exchange for more out-of-pocket risk before coverage kicks in.

Plans C and F are closed if you became eligible for Medicare in 2020 or later

Plans C and F once covered the annual Part B deductible on top of the other gaps, which made Plan F the most complete plan on the market. Under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), no Medigap plan that pays the Part B deductible can be sold to people new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. That is a two-part test: you count as new to Medicare only if you turned 65 on or after January 1, 2020 and also got Medicare Part A on or after that date.3

The closure works by eligibility date, not purchase date. If you became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, you may still be able to buy Plan C or Plan F in Connecticut, including the high-deductible Plan F where an insurer offers it.3 If you already have one, you don't have to switch: a Medigap policy is guaranteed renewable, so the insurer can't cancel it as long as you pay the premium.1 Someone who had Medicare before 65 because of a disability or End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) before 2020 is also outside the closure when they turn 65.3 If you're new to Medicare under that two-part test, those two plans are off the table, which is why Plan G has become the default top-tier choice for newer enrollees: it is identical to Plan F except that you pay the one Part B deductible yourself.1

The federal six-month open enrollment still applies

Connecticut's year-round guaranteed issue sits on top of the federal Medigap rules, which still apply.2

• The federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This is a one-time, six-month window that begins the first month you are both age 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B. During it, insurers nationwide must sell you any Medigap policy they offer regardless of your health, with no medical underwriting and no higher price because you have health problems. An insurer can still make you wait up to 6 months for coverage of a pre-existing condition, unless you had at least 6 months of continuous prior creditable coverage.
• Connecticut's year-round guaranteed issue. Beyond the federal window, Connecticut keeps the door open for life: you can buy or switch any time, with no denial based on your health and community-rated pricing.
• Federal guaranteed-issue rights. Certain situations, such as losing your other health coverage or having your Medicare Advantage plan leave Medicare, give you a federal guaranteed-issue right to buy specific plans with no medical underwriting, each with its own application window.6

Outside specific guaranteed-issue situations, the federal six-month window is the only time federal law bars an insurer from using your health against you.2 In Connecticut, that protection effectively continues indefinitely, so the choice between Plan G and Plan N is less of a one-shot decision than the federal rules alone would make it.

What Medigap costs and how it's priced in Connecticut

Medicare says a Medigap premium varies based on which policy you buy, where you live, and other factors, and that the amount can change each year.5 In Connecticut, rates are community-rated and are the same regardless of age, so your age doesn't move your quote; the plan letter and the carrier do, and Plan G and Plan N quotes differ from one Connecticut insurer to the next.1 As a general rule, the more a plan covers, the higher its premium: Plan G, which leaves you only the annual Part B deductible, typically costs more than Plan N, which shifts some cost-sharing back to you. Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage, so you add a separate Medicare Part D plan for that.

Connecticut's community-rating rule shapes pricing differently from the way Medigap is commonly priced. Where insurers use attained-age rating, a low first-year quote climbs as you get older, and issue-age rating sets the price by the age you were when you bought. In Connecticut, premiums cannot be set or raised based on your individual age, gender, or health, so an 80-year-old and a 70-year-old generally pay the same rate for the same plan from the same carrier.1 Premiums can still rise over time for everyone in a plan, because of inflation and other factors, which is why comparing each insurer's rate-increase history matters even in a community-rated state.1

Who regulates Medigap in Connecticut

Connecticut Medigap policies are regulated by the Connecticut Insurance Department, which oversees the insurers that sell these policies and handles consumer complaints. For free, unbiased one-on-one counseling, Connecticut's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), called CHOICES, can be reached at 1-800-994-9422.1

Learn More

Find personalized help comparing Medicare Supplement plans in Connecticut at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.