Medicare Supplement Plan C is one of the most comprehensive Medigap plans ever offered — but it’s also a plan most people can no longer buy new. If you already have it, or you’re comparing it to what’s available today, here’s what you need to know.
What Plan C Covers
Plan C covers nearly every gap left by Original Medicare:
- Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, plus up to 365 extra days after Medicare benefits run out
- Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayment
- The first 3 pints of blood each year
- Part A hospice care coinsurance
- Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
- The Medicare Part A deductible
- The Medicare Part B deductible
- Foreign travel emergency care (up to plan limits)
In plain terms, if you have Plan C and you go to the doctor or the hospital for a Medicare-covered service, you’re very unlikely to see a bill. The only major gap is Part B excess charges — the amount some doctors can legally charge above what Medicare approves, which Plan C doesn’t cover.
Why You Can’t Buy Plan C New Anymore
Federal law changed the rules for Medigap starting January 1, 2020. As part of that change, Plans C and F — the two plans that covered the Part B deductible — were closed to anyone who became newly eligible for Medicare on or after that date. The reasoning was that covering the Part B deductible removed any incentive for enrollees to be cost-conscious about routine care, so lawmakers phased out that specific combination of benefits for new enrollees going forward.
If you were already eligible for Medicare before that date — even if you hadn’t enrolled in a Medigap plan yet — you can still apply for Plan C today. If you turned 65, or first became eligible for Medicare, on or after January 1, 2020, Plan C isn’t an option for you, and Plan G is the closest match still on the market.
Plan C vs. Plan G
The only meaningful difference between Plan C and Plan G is the Part B deductible: Plan C covers it, Plan G doesn’t. Because that deductible is relatively small compared to a year’s worth of premiums, many people who are eligible for both find that Plan G’s lower premium outweighs the value of having that one deductible covered. It’s worth running the actual numbers for your situation rather than assuming either plan is automatically the better deal.
How Plan C Premiums Are Priced
Medigap carriers price their plans using one of three rating methods: community-rated (everyone pays the same regardless of age), issue-age-rated (your premium is locked in based on your age when you first bought the policy and doesn’t increase just because you get older), or attained-age-rated (premiums increase as you age, typically the lowest starting price but the fastest-growing over time). Since Plan C is a closed book of business — no new customers are being added — it’s worth checking specifically how a given carrier’s Plan C block has been trending on rate increases, not just what the current premium looks like.
Who Still Has Plan C
Most people we talk to about Plan C already have it and are trying to decide whether to keep it or switch. Since it’s a closed plan with no new entrants, some carriers’ Plan C blocks have seen steeper rate increases over time than their still-open Plan G blocks. If you’re in that position, we can compare your current Plan C premium and coverage against what a Plan G policy would actually cost you today, including whether you’d need to answer health questions to switch (medical underwriting) outside of a guaranteed-issue period.
Guaranteed Issue Rights
If you’re eligible for Plan C and you’re within your 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period (which starts the month you’re both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B), you generally can’t be turned down or charged more due to health conditions. Outside that window, insurers can typically use medical underwriting to decide whether to accept your application and what to charge — though certain life events, like losing employer coverage, can trigger separate guaranteed-issue rights. We’ll help you figure out exactly where you stand before you apply.
A Real-World Example
Say you were eligible for Medicare back in 2017 but didn’t enroll in a Medigap plan right away because you were still working. You retire this year and finally look at supplement options. Because your Medicare eligibility started before January 1, 2020, Plan C is still on the table for you, even though you’re just now buying it. That surprises a lot of people — they assume “the deadline already passed,” but the rule is based on when you first became eligible for Medicare, not when you actually enroll in a Medigap plan. It’s one of the more common mix-ups we clear up in these conversations.
Compare that to someone turning 65 this year: they weren’t eligible for Medicare before 2020, so Plan C simply isn’t available to them no matter which carrier they ask. For that person, the comparison isn’t “Plan C vs. Plan G” — it’s just “which Plan G, or which other letter, fits my budget.”
Common Questions About Plan C
Does Plan C cover prescription drugs?
No. Like every Medigap plan, Plan C doesn’t include prescription drug coverage. You’d pair it with a standalone Medicare Part D plan, and we can help you compare Part D plans against your actual medication list at the same time we review your Plan C options.
Can I switch from Plan C to Plan G?
Yes, in the sense that nothing legally prevents it — but outside a guaranteed-issue situation, the new carrier can ask health questions and could decline you or adjust your rate based on your health. That’s why we always compare the numbers and your health situation together before recommending a switch, rather than assuming a lower sticker price on paper will actually work out in your favor.
Is Plan C still worth keeping?
For a lot of long-time policyholders, yes — especially if your health has changed since you first enrolled and switching would mean new underwriting. The Part B deductible it covers is relatively modest, so the real question is usually about the rate trend on your specific policy over the last few years, not the plan letter itself. That’s a policy-by-policy comparison, not a one-size-fits-all answer.
Plan C and Medicare Advantage Don’t Mix
It’s worth being clear on this, because it comes up often: Plan C, like every Medigap plan, only works alongside Original Medicare (Parts A and B). If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can’t also have a Medigap policy paying alongside it — the two aren’t designed to work together, and it would be illegal for an agent to sell you both for the same coverage period. If you’re currently on a Medicare Advantage plan and considering a move to Original Medicare plus Plan C, that’s a bigger conversation about your doctors, prescriptions, and current plan’s network, not just a Medigap comparison, and we’re glad to walk through that with you as a separate step.
Weighing the Higher Premium
Comprehensive plans like Plan C generally carry a higher monthly premium than leaner options like Plan A or a Medicare Advantage plan, in exchange for far fewer surprise bills. The way we usually frame it: a high-premium, low-exposure plan like Plan C makes your healthcare costs predictable — you pay roughly the same amount every month whether you see the doctor twice a year or twenty times. A leaner plan can look cheaper on paper most months, but exposes you to more cost if you have a rough health year. Neither approach is objectively right; it depends on how much monthly cost certainty is worth to you, and what you can comfortably absorb if something unexpected happens. We’ll go through that trade-off with your actual numbers, not just the plan’s reputation.
How We Help With Plan C
Because Plan C is a closed book of business, comparing it well means looking at actual rate history, not just this year’s premium. We’ll pull your current policy details, check whether you’re still eligible to buy Plan C if you don’t already have it, and lay out what switching to Plan G (or another option) would really look like for your specific health situation and ZIP code — in plain language, at no cost, with no pressure to change anything.
Because we’re based in Bethel and work with clients throughout Cincinnati, Hamilton, Clermont, Butler, and Warren County, this is a conversation we’re happy to have in person, not just over the phone — bring your current Medigap policy documents and a list of the carriers you’re considering, and we’ll go through the actual math together, line by line, so you leave with a clear answer instead of more open questions or lingering doubts about whether you’re genuinely still getting good value from a policy you’ve held for years.