High-Deductible Plan G: How the 2027 Deductible Works

Most Plan G policies start to help soon after you meet a small set of costs. High-deductible Plan G works in a different way. You pay a large sum of cost sharing first. Only then does the plan start to pay. That trade is the whole point of this plan. You take on more risk at the start of the year. In return, you get the same broad Plan G backstop once the bar is met.

This guide is for the open enrollment choice many people face now. You may like Plan G, but you may not want the cost of the standard form. The high-deductible form is the fork in that road. Our Medicare Supplement hub shows the full set of plan letters and how they compare.

One rule comes first. A Medigap plan pays toward the Original Medicare benefit. It does not cover a service on its own. Medicare must cover the service first. Then the Medigap plan pays its share of the cost that is left.

What this plan is

Plan G is a Medicare Supplement plan, also called Medigap. Private companies sell these plans. The benefits for a plan letter are set by rule, so Plan G has the same core benefits no matter which company sells it. The price can differ a lot from one company to the next.

Standard Plan G pays most Medicare cost sharing once you have paid the Part B deductible. High-deductible Plan G keeps that same end point, but it puts a large deductible in front of it. You must clear that bar in a year before the plan pays.

Think of it as two steps in one year. In step one, you pay your own cost sharing. In step two, after the bar is met, the plan pays the rest of your Medicare cost sharing for that year.

How the 2027 deductible works

CMS sets this amount each year. For 2027, the amount is $3,050. CMS announced it in October 2026. It takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Do not use the 2027 amount for care in 2026. For 2026, the amount is $2,950. The year of the care sets which amount counts.

The count starts fresh each year. Costs you paid in 2026 do not carry into 2027. If you do not meet the bar in a year, the count starts at zero again on the next January 1.

What counts toward the deductible

The deductible is built from out of pocket costs for Medicare covered care. These are the cost sharing sums Medicare leaves for you to pay.

Each bill you pay moves you closer to $3,050 in 2027. Keep each bill and each proof of pay. Your total for the year is what proves you met the bar.

• The Part B deductible counts as a cost you pay first. For 2026, that deductible is $283.
• Part B coinsurance counts. This is most often the share of a bill that Medicare does not pay.
• Part A hospital coinsurance counts when you owe it.
• The Part A hospital deductible counts when you owe it.
• Skilled nursing coinsurance counts when you owe it.
• Hospice cost sharing counts when you owe it.

What does not count

Some costs do not move the count at all.

This split is key. A person can pay premiums all year and still be at zero on the deductible count. Only cost sharing for covered care builds the total.

• Your Medigap premium does not count. Premiums are left out by rule.
• Your Part B premium does not count toward this deductible. You pay that premium to Medicare in a separate way.
• Costs for care that Medicare does not cover do not count. The plan pays toward the Medicare benefit only.
• Costs you paid in a past year do not count in a new year.

When the plan starts to pay

The plan starts to pay once you have paid the full deductible for the year. In 2027, that point is $3,050 in cost sharing paid by you.

From that point on, the plan covers all remaining Medicare cost sharing for the rest of the year. That is the backstop people buy this plan for. A long hospital stay or a run of care late in the year will not add new cost sharing bills after the bar is met.

The plan does not pay before that point for those same costs. If your total for the year stays below the bar, you will have paid those bills on your own for the whole year.

Costs you pay on top

This plan does not stand alone. You still pay other set costs.

No state or CMS list can tell you the right premium for you. Two companies can charge very different prices for the same plan letter. Shop with more than one company before you sign up.

• You pay the Part B premium each month. The standard amount is $202.90 per month in 2026.
• You pay a monthly premium to the company that sells the plan. Each company sets its own price, so you must get quotes to know that cost.
• You pay the Part B deductible as part of your cost sharing. The amount is $283 for 2026, and it counts toward the high deductible total.

Who can get this plan

High-deductible Plan G is open to people who are new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. That date matters for which plans you can buy.

If you were new to Medicare before that date, other high-deductible forms may be in the mix for you. If you are new on or after that date, Plan G is the high-deductible form built for your group.

Your right to buy without health checks can depend on when you sign up. The open enrollment window for Medigap is the safest time to buy for most people. Act in that window if you can.

Who this plan fits

This plan fits some people well and others poorly. Fit turns on health, cash on hand, and how you feel about risk.

It may be a poor fit in other cases.

Run the math for a good year and for a bad year. In a good year, you may pay little cost sharing and never reach the bar. In a bad year, you pay the full bar first, and then the plan takes over.

• It may fit if you are in good health and use little care in a normal year.
• It may fit if you can pay $3,050 out of pocket in a bad year and not strain your budget.
• It may fit if you want a cap on your worst year cost sharing, even if you hope not to use it.
• It may fit if you keep cash set aside for health costs and track your bills with care.
• It may be a poor fit if you use care often and would meet the bar most years.
• It may be a poor fit if a $3,050 bill early in the year would be hard to pay.
• It may be a poor fit if you want calm, steady costs and few bills to track.

How it differs from Plan K and Plan L

Plan K and Plan L use a different tool. They do not use this high deductible. They use an out of pocket limit for the year.

For 2027, the Plan K out of pocket limit is $8,360. For 2027, the Plan L out of pocket limit is $4,180. Both amounts start on January 1, 2027.

The idea is not the same. With Plan K or Plan L, the plan pays a share of costs along the way. Once you hit the limit and have met the Part B deductible, the plan pays all covered costs for the rest of the year. With high-deductible Plan G, you pay all cost sharing first, up to $3,050, and then the plan pays all the rest.

Do not mix the two tools. A deductible is what you pay before the plan pays. An out of pocket limit is the most you pay while the plan pays a share along the way.

Who pays for care

Care can be paid in more than one way. The path you pick sets who pays what.

You cannot stack a Medigap plan on a Medicare Advantage plan for the same care. Pick one path, learn its rules, and price that full path.

• Original Medicare is the base for a Medigap plan. Medicare pays its share first for covered care. Your Medigap plan then pays toward the cost that is left, once its rules are met. High-deductible Plan G sits on top of this path.
• Medicare Advantage is the other fork, not a mix with Medigap. A person picks that path in place of the Medigap path. Our guide to dual eligible special needs plans shows one type of plan on that path, for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.
• Medicaid can help people with low income and low resources pay Medicare costs. It can help with premiums and cost sharing for those who qualify. Rules are set by each state, and you apply through your state.
• Private pay is what you pay from your own funds. In this plan, your cost sharing up to the deductible is a form of private pay. So are premiums and any costs for care Medicare does not cover.

Sample situation

Rosa is 67 and lives on a fixed budget. She is in good health and sees her doctor a few times a year. She picks high-deductible Plan G for 2027 because she wants a backstop if a big hospital stay hits. She can also set aside cash to meet the deductible if she needs to.

In 2027, Rosa still pays her Part B premium each month. The 2026 amount for that premium is $202.90 a month, and this story uses that 2026 amount to show how the costs stack up. She also knows the first costs are hers. If she needs care, she pays Medicare cost sharing from her own funds. That set of costs includes the Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026. Those costs build toward the $3,050 high-deductible amount for 2027.

Rosa has a hospital stay in the spring and then needs more care in the fall. By fall, the cost sharing she has paid adds up to $3,050. At that point, the deductible is met. For the rest of 2027, her plan pays all remaining Medicare cost sharing for covered care. She still pays her monthly premiums, but she does not face new cost sharing for the rest of the year.

The trade fits her because she had savings set aside and her health risks were low at the start of the year.

Steps to decide before you enroll

• Check that you are new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, so this form of Plan G is open to you.
• Set aside cash that would let you pay $3,050 in cost sharing in a bad year.
• Get premium quotes for high-deductible Plan G and for standard Plan G from more than one company.
• List your doctors and your normal care use in a year. Think about how often you would come close to the bar.
• Compare the full year cost for a good year and for a bad year, with premiums in both counts.
• Enroll in your open enrollment window if you can, and keep proof of each cost sharing bill you pay.

Sources

• https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-drug-plans/medigap/f-g-j-deductible-announcements
• https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-drug-plans/medigap/k-l-out-of-pocket-limits-announcements