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Medicare Plan G vs Plan N in 2027: Costs, Coverage and Which to Choose

By Brian Monahan Updated November 8, 2026

Reviewed November 8, 2026. Medigap Plan G and Plan N cover the same core gaps in Original Medicare, including the Part A deductible and your hospital and skilled nursing coinsurance. The differences for 2027 are the same as in past years: Plan G pays Part B excess charges and has no office or ER copays, while Plan N leaves you with small copays and excess charges in exchange for a premium that is usually lower.

Quick answer: Choose Plan G if you want the most predictable bills, see specialists often, or live where doctors may not accept Medicare assignment. Consider Plan N if you are comfortable paying up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for ER visits that don’t lead to an inpatient admission, and the premium savings in your ZIP code are large enough to outweigh those costs. With both plans you pay the Part B deductible yourself ($283 in 2026; CMS has not yet announced the 2027 amount).

How Plan G and Plan N fit into Medicare

Plan G and Plan N are Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policies. They work only with Original Medicare (Part A hospital insurance and Part B medical insurance) and pay part or all of the costs Original Medicare leaves behind, such as deductibles and the 20% Part B coinsurance. They are not Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans and they do not include prescription drug coverage, so most people pair either plan with a separate Part D drug plan.

Medigap plans are standardized by federal law. A Plan G from one insurer has the same benefits as a Plan G from any other insurer in your state, and the same is true for Plan N. Medicare.gov’s guide notes that price is the only difference between policies with the same plan letter sold by different companies. (Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin standardize Medigap differently, so the letter plans below don’t apply there.)

If you became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, you can’t buy Plan F or Plan C. That is a big reason Plan G and Plan N are the two plans most new enrollees compare. For a look at all 10 letter plans side by side, see our Medicare Supplement comparison chart for 2027.

Plan G vs Plan N comparison table

This table follows the Medigap benefits chart published by Medicare.gov. “Covered” means the plan pays 100% of that cost after Original Medicare pays its share.

Benefit	Plan G	Plan N
Part A coinsurance and hospital costs (up to an extra 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up)	Covered	Covered
Part B coinsurance or copayment	Covered	Covered, except up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for ER visits that don’t result in inpatient admission
Blood (first 3 pints)	Covered	Covered
Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment	Covered	Covered
Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance	Covered	Covered
Part A deductible	Covered	Covered
Part B deductible ($283 in 2026)	Not covered	Not covered
Part B excess charges	Covered	Not covered
Foreign travel emergency (up to plan limits)	80%	80%
High-deductible version	Yes, in some states ($3,050 deductible in 2027)	No

What both plans cover

For most of the big-ticket costs, Plan G and Plan N are identical. Both pay:

The Part A deductible for each hospital benefit period ($1,736 in 2026, per CMS).
Part A hospital coinsurance, plus up to an additional 365 days of hospital costs after Medicare benefits run out.
Skilled nursing facility coinsurance and Part A hospice coinsurance.
The first 3 pints of blood.
80% of foreign travel emergency care, up to plan limits.

Neither plan pays the Part B deductible. That rule is set by law: Medigap plans sold to people new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 can’t cover it. Both plans also let you see any doctor or hospital in the U.S. that accepts Medicare, with no network and no referrals. Our Medigap Plan G benefits guide walks through each of these benefits in more detail.

The two real differences

1. Plan N copays for office and ER visits

Plan N pays the Part B coinsurance, but Medicare.gov notes you must pay a copayment of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don’t result in an inpatient admission. If you are admitted, the ER copay does not apply. Plan G has no such copays once you have met the Part B deductible.

2. Part B excess charges

Doctors who accept Medicare assignment agree to take the Medicare-approved amount as full payment. Some providers participate in Medicare but don’t accept assignment for every service. According to Medicare.gov, in many cases they can charge up to 15% above the Medicare-approved amount. That difference is called an excess charge.

Plan G pays excess charges. Plan N does not, so you would owe that amount yourself. Here is how the math works: if the Medicare-approved amount for a service is $200 and the provider doesn’t accept assignment, the provider could bill up to $230, and with Plan N you would owe the extra $30. You can avoid excess charges by using providers who accept assignment, which you can check with Medicare’s Care Compare tool or by asking the office before your visit. We cover this in more depth in Medicare Plan N excess charges explained.

Costs in 2027: what is known and what isn’t

Part B premium and deductible: CMS has not yet published the 2027 amounts. For 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month and the Part B deductible is $283. You pay the Part B premium with either Medigap plan.
High-deductible Plan G: CMS set the 2027 deductible for high-deductible Plans F, G and J at $3,050 (up from $2,950 in 2026). You pay Medicare-covered costs up to that amount before the policy pays anything. There is no high-deductible version of Plan N.
Medigap premiums: Premiums for Plan G and Plan N are set by each insurance company and vary by state, ZIP code, age, sex, tobacco use and the company’s pricing method. Medicare does not publish a national average, so the only reliable way to compare is to get quotes for both plans from the companies selling them where you live.

Insurers price Medigap policies in one of three ways, per Medicare.gov: community-rated (everyone pays the same premium regardless of age), issue-age-rated (based on your age when you buy) or attained-age-rated (the premium goes up as you get older). Ask which method a company uses, because a low starting premium on an attained-age policy can rise faster over time.

A simple way to compare your real cost

Take the yearly premium difference between the Plan G and Plan N quotes you receive. Then estimate how many office visits you have in a typical year and multiply by up to $20, add up to $50 for each expected ER visit that wouldn’t lead to admission, and add any excess charges you might face. If the premium savings are larger than those likely costs, Plan N may come out ahead. If they are close, Plan G’s predictability may be worth the extra premium.

When Plan G makes more sense

You see doctors or specialists frequently and don’t want a copay at each visit.
Your doctors, or doctors you may need later, don’t always accept Medicare assignment.
You travel or split time between states and can’t always check a provider’s assignment status in advance.
You want your only routine medical cost under Original Medicare, beyond premiums, to be the Part B deductible.
You want a lower premium and could handle a large deductible in a bad year. In that case, compare regular Plan G vs high-deductible Plan G.

When Plan N makes more sense

You are in generally good health and see the doctor a few times a year.
Your doctors accept Medicare assignment, so excess charges are unlikely.
The Plan N premium in your area is meaningfully lower than Plan G and you are comfortable budgeting for small copays.
You still want full coverage for hospital stays and the Part A deductible, which Plan N pays in full.

Plan G or Plan N vs Medicare Advantage

Medigap and Medicare Advantage are two different paths, and you can’t use a Medigap policy to pay costs in a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private companies, usually use provider networks, may require prior authorization or referrals, and often include drug coverage and extras such as dental or vision. Each plan has a yearly limit on what you pay for covered Medicare services. Plan G and Plan N, by contrast, work with any provider that accepts Medicare nationwide and generally don’t require prior approval for Medicare-covered services, but you add a separate Part D plan for drugs. Our best Medicare Supplement plans for 2027 page explains who tends to favor each path.

When to buy Plan G or Plan N

Timing matters more than plan letter for many people. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is the 6-month period that starts the first day of the month you are 65 or older and signed up for Part B. During this window, insurers can’t refuse to sell you a policy or charge you more because of health problems.

After that window, Medicare.gov notes there is no federal guarantee an insurance company will sell you a Medigap policy, and if you can buy one it may cost more due to past or present health problems. Medigap does not have an annual open enrollment like Medicare Advantage and Part D, so the October 15 to December 7 period does not give you a right to switch between Plan G and Plan N.

Federal guaranteed issue rights apply in certain situations outside your open enrollment period, for example when you leave a Medicare Advantage plan under specific conditions or lose certain other coverage. Applications are generally due no more than 63 days after the other coverage ends. Some states give extra rights to switch Medigap plans. Check Medicare.gov or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for the rules where you live, and see how to switch from Medicare Advantage to Medigap if that applies to you.

Remember that a Medigap policy covers only one person, so spouses each buy their own policy and can choose different plans or companies.

Prescription drugs: add a Part D plan

Neither Plan G nor Plan N covers outpatient prescription drugs. If you choose either one, compare stand-alone Part D plans on the Medicare Plan Finder during Open Enrollment (October 15 to December 7, 2026 for 2027 coverage). For 2027, Medicare.gov states no Part D plan can have a deductible above $700, and your out-of-pocket costs for covered Part D drugs are capped at $2,400 for the year.

Frequently asked questions

Is Plan G better than Plan N in 2027?

Plan G covers more: it adds Part B excess charges and has no office or ER copays. Whether it is better for you depends on the premium difference in your area, how often you see doctors and whether your providers accept Medicare assignment.

How much are the Plan N copays?

Up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don’t result in an inpatient admission, according to Medicare.gov. Plan G has no such copays.

Do Plan G and Plan N cover the Part B deductible?

No. You pay the Part B deductible yourself with both plans. It is $283 in 2026. CMS has not yet published the 2027 Part B deductible.

What is the high-deductible Plan G deductible for 2027?

CMS set it at $3,050 for 2027. High-deductible Plan G is offered in some states. There is no high-deductible Plan N.

Can I switch from Plan N to Plan G later?

You can apply at any time, but outside your Medigap Open Enrollment Period or a guaranteed issue situation, the insurer may review your health and can turn you down or charge more. Some states have their own rules that make switching easier, so check with your state insurance department or SHIP.

Does AARP or any other company offer a different Plan G or Plan N?

The benefits are the same for every company in a given state because the plans are standardized. Companies differ in price, pricing method, customer service and any discounts they offer. See our review of AARP Medicare Supplement plans for 2027 for one example.