Advantage or Supplement?
Six questions about your doctors, your travel and your budget. Tells you which side of the Medicare fork actually fits — and why.
Find my plan typeFree tool
Plan G or Plan N?
Plan N costs less every month and hands some of it back in copays — plus the Part B excess charges it does not cover. Put your two quotes in and find the visit count where they swap places.
Estimated 2026 total
Calculated in your browser from 2026 federal figures and the numbers you entered. Nothing is transmitted or stored.
This is an estimate, not a quote. Both columns include the 2026 Part B deductible of $283, which Plan G and Plan N both leave to you. Neither column includes the standard Part B premium of $202.90 or a Part D plan, because both are identical on either policy. No carrier or product is named.
What actually differs between them
Medigap plans are standardised by federal law. Plan G from one carrier covers exactly what Plan G from another covers — identical benefits, whatever the branding. So the comparison is never "which company", it is "which letter, at what price".
| Cost | Plan G | Plan N |
|---|---|---|
| Part A deductible ($1,736) | Covered | Covered |
| Part B deductible | You pay $283 | You pay $283 |
| Part B coinsurance | Covered | Covered |
| Office visit | Nothing | Up to $20 copay |
| Emergency room | Nothing | Up to $50, waived if admitted |
| Part B excess charges | Covered | Not covered |
| Skilled nursing coinsurance | Covered | Covered |
| Foreign travel emergency | 80%, to plan limits | 80%, to plan limits |
The excess-charge question matters in Arizona
A provider who does not accept Medicare assignment may bill up to 15% above the Medicare-approved amount. Plan G absorbs that; Plan N leaves it with you.
Eight states ban excess charges outright — CT, MA, MN, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT. Arizona is not one of them, so this is a live consideration here rather than a technicality. In practice the large majority of providers do accept assignment, and you can simply ask before an appointment. But "mostly" is not "always", and a Plan N holder who sees a non-participating specialist regularly can lose the premium saving.
The breakeven, in plain terms
Take the annual premium difference between the two policies. Divide by the Plan N office copay. That is roughly how many visits a year you can make before Plan N stops being the cheaper policy. Add excess charges and the breakeven arrives sooner.
Which means the honest answer depends on something only you know: how often you actually sit in front of a doctor. Someone with three visits a year and a $35 monthly saving is clearly better off on Plan N. Someone with twenty visits and a chronic condition usually is not.
One thing this cannot model
Medigap premiums rise as you age, and Plan G and Plan N do not necessarily rise at the same rate. A comparison of this year's quotes is a snapshot. Rate history — how a given carrier has actually behaved at renewal over the last decade — is public information and is worth as much as the opening price. That is a conversation rather than a calculator.
More on how supplements fit the wider picture is in Advantage vs Medigap and Medicare out-of-pocket costs.
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Next step
Let’s look at your actual options.
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