New York is one of a few states where you can buy or switch a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy at any time of year, with no medical underwriting and no health screening. Any New York Medicare enrollee gets year-round guaranteed issue, and community rating means your premium cannot vary by your age, gender, or health. This guide explains what year-round guaranteed issue and community rating mean in practice, the tradeoff of higher upfront premiums, the Plan G versus Plan N choice, which plans are closed to newer enrollees, and who regulates Medigap in New York.
How Medigap works in New York
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. A married couple who both want coverage need two policies.
New York uses the federal standardized framework. Medigap is sold as lettered plans, A through N, and the benefits inside each letter are fixed by federal rule. A Plan G from one New York insurer covers exactly what a Plan G from another covers, per the Medicare.gov plan-benefit comparison. Insurers compete on price, service, and rate stability, not on what the plan pays.
The gaps Medigap closes are real. After the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), Original Medicare pays 80% of the approved amount for most outpatient care and leaves you the other 20%, with no annual cap. Part A adds a hospital deductible of $1,736 per benefit period in 2026, and that deductible can apply more than once in a year. Medigap caps that exposure.
Year-round guaranteed issue and community rating
New York's standout protection is that you are never locked out. Per the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), any insurer writing Medigap coverage in the state must accept a Medicare enrollee's application at any time of year. Insurers may not deny you a policy or make any premium distinction because of health status, claims experience, medical condition, or whether you're receiving care. New York also requires community rating, which means premiums cannot vary by the applicant's age, gender, or health.
For most of the country, the protection that lets you buy any Medigap plan regardless of health is a one-time, six-month window at age 65. Miss it, and insurers can underwrite, charge more, or decline you. New York removes that cliff entirely. A 78-year-old New Yorker with several health conditions can apply for Plan G today and pay the same community-rated premium as a healthy 65-year-old buying the same plan.
What year-round guaranteed issue means for your choices
The practical effect is freedom to change your mind. In an underwriting state, the safe move is to lock in your most generous plan at 65, because switching up later can trigger a health review. In New York, that pressure is gone.
- You can start on a lower-cost plan, such as Plan N, and move up to Plan G in a later year without underwriting.
- You can shop your premium every year and switch carriers if a competitor's community-rated price is lower for the same letter.
- You are never penalized for waiting or for a change in your health, because neither affects your eligibility or your rate.
The tradeoff is upfront cost. Community-rated premiums are often higher at age 65 than the age-rated premiums new enrollees see in other states, because a New York insurer charges everyone the same rate rather than starting younger buyers low. You pay more early in exchange for never facing underwriting and never paying an age-based increase. Over a long retirement, that protection can outweigh the higher starting premium, but the first-year quote will usually look higher than an attained-age plan elsewhere.
Plan G and Plan N: the common choices
The benefits inside each plan letter are the same in New York as everywhere else. For most enrollees the practical choice narrows to two plans.
Plan G is the most complete plan still available to people who became eligible on or after January 1, 2020. It covers every gap in Original Medicare 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. 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.
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 don't lead to an inpatient admission, and it does not cover Part B excess charges. In exchange, Plan N premiums are usually lower than Plan G premiums. In New York, starting on Plan N and moving up to Plan G later carries no underwriting penalty, so the lower-premium plan is a safer starting point here than in most states.
| Feature | Plan G | Plan N |
|---|---|---|
| Part A hospital deductible | Covered | Covered |
| Part B coinsurance | Covered in full | Covered, minus up to $20 office / $50 ER copays |
| Part B excess charges | Covered | Not covered |
| Annual Part B deductible ($283 in 2026) | You pay it | You pay it |
| Skilled nursing facility coinsurance | Covered | Covered |
| Relative premium | Higher | Lower than Plan G |
Plans C and F are closed to newer enrollees
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), any Medigap plan that pays the Part B deductible is closed to people who first became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.
The closure works by eligibility date, not purchase date. If you became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, you can still buy or keep Plan C or Plan F in New York. If you became eligible on or after that date, those two plans are off the table, which is why Plan G has become the default top-tier choice for newer enrollees: it's identical to Plan F except that you pay the one Part B deductible yourself.
What Medigap costs and how it's priced in New York
Medigap premiums vary by insurer and plan letter, but not by you. Because New York requires community rating, your age, gender, and health do not change your premium, and you won't see the attained-age increases that raise premiums year over year in many other states. Two New Yorkers buying the same Plan G from the same insurer pay the same rate whether one is 65 and healthy and the other is 80 with chronic conditions.
What still varies is the carrier and the letter. Different insurers set different community-rated premiums for the same Plan G, so it pays to compare, and DFS publishes the list of insurers offering Medigap in New York and their rates. Nationally, median Plan G premiums run about $150 to $175 a month and Plan N about $125 to $150, but New York's community-rated premiums often sit higher than age-rated quotes in other states. Note that Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage, so you add a separate Part D plan for that.
Who regulates Medigap in New York
Medigap policies in New York are regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services, which oversees the insurers that sell these policies, enforces the year-round guaranteed-issue and community-rating rules, and publishes the approved insurers and their rates. If you have a complaint or a question about a specific policy, DFS is the agency to contact.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. New York requires year-round guaranteed issue, so any insurer writing Medigap coverage must accept your application at any time of year, with no medical underwriting and no health screening, per the New York Department of Financial Services. You are not limited to the federal six-month window most states use.
No. New York requires community rating, so insurers cannot vary your premium based on your age, gender, or health. Two people buying the same plan from the same insurer pay the same rate, and you won't face the attained-age increases common in other states.
No. New York is one of a few states with year-round guaranteed-issue and community-rated Medigap. Connecticut has similar protections. Most states only guarantee issue during a one-time six-month open enrollment at age 65.
Because New York lets you switch up later with no underwriting, starting on the lower-premium Plan N is a safer choice here than in underwriting states. You can move up to Plan G in a later year without a health review. The tradeoff is the copays Plan N adds for some office and emergency-room visits.
Only if you first became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Plans C and F, which cover the Part B deductible, are closed to anyone who became eligible on or after that date under MACRA. Plan G is the closest available alternative; it's identical to Plan F except that you pay the annual Part B deductible yourself.
Learn More
- Medicare plans and coverage in New York
- Medigap (Medicare Supplement): how the lettered plans work
- What is Medicare? Parts A, B, C, and D explained
- Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage
Find personalized help comparing Medicare Supplement plans in New York 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.