What is the history of Medigap plans and what are the current standardized plans?
Originally, Medigap policies were not standardized and comparing the various plans and their benefits were virtually impossible. In the early 1990s, however, Congress directed the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to design 10 standard benefit packages, and prohibited insurance companies from selling anything else to supplement Medicare after July 1992. States were required to adopt new laws to implement the requirements for these 10 newly standardized benefit packages, originally labeled Medigap Plans A through J. Subsequent federal legislation added 2 high deductible riders to 2 of the Medigap plans, F and J, and later added 2 additional benefit packages: Medigap plans K and L, increasing the total number of Medigap plans to 12 benefit packages plus 2 riders. Except for K and L, these are the plans that have been sold for the last 16 years. See our section on Medigap policies and a chart of these 12 plans for more information.
