What Is Medigap Plan L? What You Need to Know

Medigap Plan L is a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan that helps pay for certain out-of-pocket expenses associated with Medicare Part A and Part B coverage. Plan L may offer lower premiums because unlike other plans, it pays for 75% rather than 100% of most benefits.

How it works

After Medicare pays for its portion of covered services, Medigap plans help pay for the out-of-pocket costs that are left over. Medigap plans only work for beneficiaries with Original Medicare — Medicare Advantage members can’t buy a Medigap plan.

There are 10 standardized Medigap plans available in most states (except Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which use different standards). The plans differ in terms of coverage for services, out-of-pocket limits and premium costs.

Medigap Plan L pays for 75% of most of its covered services. (It’s similar to Plan K, which pays 50%.) So if you were billed for a $100 Part B coinsurance, Plan L would cover $75, and you’d owe the other $25 out of pocket.

Medigap Plan L also has an out-of-pocket limit — another feature it shares only with Plan K. When you reach Plan L’s limit of $3,610 for 2025, the plan pays for 100% of its covered services until the end of the calendar year.

What Medigap Plan L covers

Medigap Plan L covers the following, according to Medicare.gov:

• Part A coinsurance and hospital costs up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up.

• Part A deductible (75%).

• Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment (75%).

• Part B coinsurance or copayment (75%).

• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance (75%).

• Blood transfusion, first three pints (75%).

• Annual out-of-pocket limit of $3,610 in 2025.

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What Medigap Plan L doesn’t cover

Here are the benefits Medigap Plan L doesn’t cover that are included in some other plans:

• Medicare Part B excess charges (if a provider is permitted to charge more than Medicare’s approved amount and does so).

• Emergency care during travel outside the U.S.

Additionally, all Medigap plans — including Plan L — sold to new Medicare members don’t cover the following:

How much does Medigap Plan L cost?

Plan L has lower premiums than most other Medigap options as a result of its reduced coverage. While the plan is regulated by the government, the private companies that sell policies set the prices. Premiums vary according to factors including age, location and tobacco use.

In Atlanta, a metro area with average costs for Medicare Supplement Insurance, monthly Medigap Plan L premiums for a 65-year-old female nonsmoker range from $127 to $208.

A $127 Medigap Plan L policy has the same standardized Medicare coverage as one that costs $208. Companies may add on extra perks like discounted gym memberships, but the core Medicare benefits are the same, so go ahead and compare based on price.

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You can get the best price and have the easiest time enrolling in a Medigap plan during your Medigap open enrollment period.

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