Medicare Plan F: Coverage, Cost & Why It's Closed to New Enrollees

The most comprehensive Medigap supplement plan ever standardized, and as of January 1, 2020, it is no longer available to individuals who have just become eligible to receive Medicare. It was closed by a federal law known as MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) which made it illegal to include the Part B deductible in a Medigap plan of a newly eligible beneficiary. Individuals who were eligible to Medicare prior to that date can still enroll in Plan F, however, the recommendation to almost everyone else would be Plan G instead.

This guide explains the medicare plan f coverage, plan f cost, plan f vs plan g, why MACRA closed plan f, and whether high deductible plan f is still worth considering. The sources of information include Medicare.gov, CMS, NAIC, and KFF. 

What is Medicare Plan F?

Medicare Plan F (also known as plan f medicare or Medicare Supplement Plan F) is a federally standardized Medigap supplement insurance plan that covers almost all gaps in Original Medicare. Under Plan F, the beneficiaries would have no deductibles, no copays and no coinsurance, when the beneficiaries receive Medicare-covered services. The sole cost that is ongoing is the Plan F premium itself including the Part B premium.

Any Medigap plan is most complete as Plan F coverage. It includes all of the benefits of Plan G, with the $257 Part B deductible each year, making it the only Medigap plan with actual first-dollar coverage of outpatient care.

To get a summary of related Medicare lingo that can be easily confused with Plan F, please see our Medicare Part F guide. The terms "Plan F" and "Part F" refer to the same product and are often used interchangeably. 

Medicare Plan F coverage: what's included

Medicare Plan F coverage is the most comprehensive Medigap option ever standardized:

• Part A hospital coinsurance plus 365 additional hospital days after Medicare benefits end

• Part A deductible ($1,684 per benefit period in 2026)

• Part B coinsurance (the 20% you'd otherwise owe after the deductible)

• Part B deductible ($257 in 2026)

• Part B excess charges (when providers charge above Medicare's approved amount)

• First three pints of blood for transfusions

• Hospice care coinsurance

• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance (days 21 through 100)

• Foreign travel emergency care (80%, up to plan limits, lifetime maximum of $50,000)

The Part A deductible, Part B deductible, and Part B excess charges are what set Plan F apart from every other Medigap plan still available. With Plan F, your only routine Medicare cost is the Part B premium ($185.00 in 2026). Everything else is covered.

Why Medicare Plan F is closed to new enrollees

Plan F was shut down to individuals who newly became eligible to receive Medicare benefits on January 1, 2020. MACRA, which banned Medigap plans to cover the Part B deductible to newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries, caused this closure.

The federal rationale was that first-dollar coverage plans such as the Plan F were motivating unnecessary doctor visits since the beneficiaries no longer face out of pocket costs. The Congressional Budget Office and federal policymakers concluded that requiring people to pay the relatively small Part B deductible would help reduce overuse of the services. The Part B deductible was also covered by Plan C, which was closed simultaneously.

The closure is applicable to Medicare beneficiaries who first became eligible on or after January 1, 2020. Any person who was 65 or older or who became eligible to receive Medicare due to disability, prior to that date will be allowed to join Plan F provided he or she wants to do so. 

Is Medicare Plan F still available? Eligibility in 2026

Medicare Plan F eligibility in 2026 has two paths:

Path 1: You were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. You can buy Plan F at any time, subject to your insurer's underwriting rules outside of guaranteed-issue periods.

Path 2: You currently have Plan F. If you enrolled before the deadline, you can keep your plan indefinitely. You can also switch carriers or buy Plan F from a new insurer if you pass medical underwriting in your state.

If neither path applies, Plan F is closed to you. The closest alternative is Plan G, which covers everything Plan F does except the $257 Part B deductible.

Medicare Plan F cost in 2026

Medicare Plan F cost varies significantly by state, age, gender, and tobacco use. Typical 2026 monthly premiums for a non-smoker at age 65:

Plan F premiums tend to rise faster than other Medigap plans because the risk pool ages without new young enrollees joining. Insurers expect older, sicker beneficiaries to dominate the closed pool over time, and they price premiums accordingly. This is the most important consideration for current Plan F holders. Annual premium increases of 5% to 10% are common, sometimes higher.

Plan F vs Plan G: the comparison most people miss

For someone who can still buy Plan F, the question is whether to choose Plan F or Plan G. The two plans cover almost identical benefits.

Plan F covers the $257 Part B deductible. Plan G doesn't. That's the only functional difference. The premium gap between Plan F and Plan G is often $30 to $80 per month, or $360 to $960 per year. The Part B deductible is $257.

The math: Plan G saves you $100 to $700 per year in most cases, even though you have to pay the deductible yourself. Most Medicare brokers steer eligible beneficiaries toward Plan G unless their specific premium quotes flip the calculation.

High deductible plan F: a different option

High deductible plan F (alternatively known as HDF) is a less popular type of plan where you pay a significantly lower monthly premium (50 to 100) in exchange of a higher annual deductible (2870 amount, indexed every year). The plan covers 100 percent of all the covered expenses that are within the year as long as the deductible is paid.

HDF targets healthy beneficiaries seeking catastrophic coverage but not willing to pay high monthly premiums. The 2026 annual deductible is approximately 6 to 12 months of standard Plan F premium savings, and thus HDF prevails when healthcare costs remain significantly less than the deductible.

There is also a high-deductible version of Plan G (HDG) with the same 2,870 deductible. HDG is the preferred catastrophic-protection plan among most of the newly eligible beneficiaries as standard HDF is closed. 

Should you keep Plan F if you already have it?

Whether to keep Plan F depends on your specific premium and how it has increased over time. Closed Medigap plans like Plan F can experience faster premium increases than open plans because the risk pool ages without new enrollees.

Reasons to keep Plan F:

• Premium remains competitive against Plan G in your area

• You value zero out-of-pocket cost on every visit

• You'd fail medical underwriting to switch plans

Reasons to consider switching to Plan G:

• Premium has risen significantly faster than Plan G in your state

• You can pass medical underwriting (most states require it for Medigap switches)

• The annual savings exceed the $257 Part B deductible

Talk to a Medicare broker before switching. Some states have annual "birthday rules" or "anniversary rules" that allow Medigap switches without medical underwriting in specific windows.