Retirees With This Medicare Coverage Will Face A $3,050 Deductible In 2027

Health insurance premiums and other medical costs continue to rise due to increased healthcare usage, more expensive treatments and medications, and changes to coverage options from private insurers. In October 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced updated deductibles for high-deductible Medigap Plans F, G, and J, which help cover expenses not paid by Original Medicare. The deductible for these plans will increase to $3,050 in 2027, a $100 increase from the 2026 deductible of $2,950. Therefore, retirees with these high-deductible plans may need to budget for an additional $100 in out-of-pocket expenses before their Medigap coverage begins paying benefits.

This $100 increase is the largest since 2024, when the deductibles for these high-deductible Medigap plans rose from $2,700 in 2023 to $2,800 in 2024. The deductibles increased by a smaller $70 in 2025 and $80 in 2026. By comparison, standard Medigap Plans F and G don't have the same high-deductible requirement. Beneficiaries sometimes choose high-deductible Medigap plans to save money on their monthly premiums. But, with the rising deductibles, you have to ask: Are these plans worth it?

Medicare Plans F, G, and J provide varying levels of coverage for out-of-pocket expenses that Original Medicare doesn't cover. Plan F is only available to those eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, while Plan J stopped accepting new enrollees in June 2010. Existing Plan J policyholders can keep their coverage. Plan J was cancelled after Medicare Part D was introduced and the coverage was no longer needed. Under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), Medigap policies covering the Part B deductible can't be sold to people newly eligible for Medicare starting in 2020.

According to NerdWallet, monthly premiums for a standard Medigap Plan F start at $184 for a 75-year-old woman living in Atlanta who doesn't smoke. Since Plan F covers the Part B deductible, that would bring the annual Medigap premium cost to $2,208, excluding Original Medicare premiums and other expenses not covered by the plan. NerdWallet also found that the starting premiums for the same person on Medigap Plan G are $152 per month. Since Plan G doesn't cover the Medicare Part B deductible, adding the $283 deductible for 2026 brings the potential annual total to $2,107.

For the same 75-year-old Atlanta resident, high-deductible premiums could start at $67 monthly for Plan F or $53 for Plan G. Using those monthly premiums as an illustration, someone who reaches the full $3,050 high-deductible threshold in 2027 could face combined annual Medigap premiums and eligible out-of-pocket expenses of $3,854 with Plan F or $3,686 with Plan G. If you are currently on a high deductible plan, it may be worth reconsidering whether you can afford higher monthly premiums to lower your overall Medicare costs. However, switching plans isn't always guaranteed, and you may face medical underwriting requirements depending on your state and enrollment circumstances.