The Part A Deductible Is Bigger Than Most People Realize

The 2026 Medicare Part A deductible is $1,676 per benefit period. Not per year. Per benefit period. That distinction matters more than almost anything else you’ll read on this page.

Here’s what that means in plain terms: if you’re hospitalized in January and again in July, and each stay is separated by at least 60 days without inpatient care, Medicare treats those as two separate benefit periods. You owe $1,676 each time. So in a single calendar year, a person with two hospital stays could be on the hook for $3,352 in Part A deductibles alone before Medicare pays a dime of hospital costs.

That’s the number that should be motivating your Medigap decision. Not the monthly premium. The exposure.

Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility stays, hospice, and some home health services. The deductible applies specifically to inpatient hospital and skilled nursing facility admissions. Once you hit that deductible within a benefit period, Medicare Part A covers 100% of your covered hospital costs for days 1 through 60. After that, coinsurance kicks in, but the deductible is what gets people first.

Most people on Original Medicare alone pay that deductible out of pocket every single time. A Medicare supplement plan changes that completely, depending on which plan you choose.

How Medigap Plans Actually Cover That Deductible

Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. That means a Plan G sold by Aetna and a Plan G sold by Mutual of Omaha cover exactly the same things. The only differences are price and the company’s reputation for service. That standardization is your friend when you’re comparing options.

When it comes to the Part A deductible, not all Medigap plans treat it the same way. Some cover it entirely. Some cover part of it. Some don’t touch it at all.

Medigap Plan	Covers 2026 Part A Deductible ($1,676)?	Notes
Plan A	No	Only covers Part A coinsurance after day 60
Plan B	Yes, fully	Covers deductible but not Part B deductible
Plan D	Yes, fully	Does not cover Part B deductible or excess charges
Plan F	Yes, fully	Only available to those eligible before January 1, 2020
Plan G	Yes, fully	Most popular plan for new enrollees; doesn’t cover Part B deductible
Plan K	50%	Lower premium, higher out-of-pocket exposure
Plan L	75%	Partial coverage; still leaves you with $419 per benefit period
Plan N	Yes, fully	Does not cover Part B excess charges; small copays for some visits
High-Deductible Plan G	Yes, but only after you meet the 2026 plan deductible ($2,870)	Low premium, much higher upfront exposure

Plans G and N are the two plans most new Medicare enrollees are actually choosing right now, and for good reason. Both cover the Part A deductible entirely. The difference between them comes down to Part B excess charges and small copays on Plan N, which we’ll get to in a moment.

Plan F was the gold standard for years because it covered everything, including the Part B deductible. But Congress eliminated it for anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you turned 65 in 2020 or later, Plan F isn’t an option for you. Plan G is the closest equivalent.

The Benefit Period Rule: Where People Get Caught Off Guard

I’ve seen this trip up a lot of people, and it’s worth spending real time here.

Most people assume Medicare works on a calendar year like their old employer insurance did. It doesn’t. The benefit period is a rolling window. It starts the day you’re admitted as an inpatient to a hospital or skilled nursing facility. It ends when you’ve been out of inpatient care for 60 consecutive days.

So take a 72-year-old woman in Florida recovering from a hip replacement. She’s discharged from the hospital in March and goes to a skilled nursing facility for rehab. If she’s discharged from the SNF and goes home, her benefit period doesn’t end until 60 days after that discharge. If she’s readmitted to the hospital before those 60 days are up, she’s still in the same benefit period and owes no new Part A deductible.

But if she stays healthy for two months, goes home, and then has a cardiac event in September, that’s a brand new benefit period. Another $1,676 deductible. On top of whatever she’s already dealt with that year.

Without a Medigap plan, she’s writing two checks to the hospital in the same calendar year. With Plan G, she’s writing zero. Her Medigap plan covers that deductible both times.

That’s the math that makes Plan G worth every penny of its monthly premium for most people. A 65-year-old buying Plan G in Ohio right now is typically paying somewhere between $110 and $165 per month depending on the insurer. That’s $1,320 to $1,980 a year. One hospitalization without coverage costs more than that. Two hospitalizations in a year could cost more than twice the annual premium.

The Mistake I See People Make Constantly

People go with Plan A because it has the lowest premium. I understand the logic. Lower premium means lower cost, right? Not even close.

Plan A is the most bare-bones Medigap plan available. It covers Part A hospital coinsurance, Part B coinsurance, the first three pints of blood, and hospice coinsurance. That’s it. It does not cover the Part A deductible. So every time you’re admitted to the hospital, you’re paying $1,676 before your Medigap plan does anything meaningful.

The premium savings on Plan A compared to Plan G might be $40 to $60 a month. That’s $480 to $720 a year. One hospital stay wipes out ten years of premium savings. That’s not a good trade.

The second mistake is assuming that once you pay the Part A deductible, you’re covered for the rest of the year. You’re not. You’re covered for the rest of that benefit period. The year doesn’t matter. The 60-day clock does.

Third mistake: people on High-Deductible Plan G often don’t fully understand what they signed up for. The 2026 plan deductible for HD-G is $2,870. Until you hit that threshold out of pocket, your Medigap plan isn’t paying anything. That includes the Part A deductible. So if you’re hospitalized, you pay the $1,676 Part A deductible yourself, and that amount counts toward your HD-G threshold. But you still potentially owe more before the plan kicks in. HD-G makes sense for very healthy people who want low premiums and are genuinely comfortable self-insuring a few thousand dollars. For anyone with any significant health history, I’d steer them toward standard Plan G.

Plan G vs. Plan N: Which One Makes More Sense for You

Both cover the Part A deductible fully. That’s settled. The question is what else you need covered.

Plan N has lower monthly premiums than Plan G, often by $20 to $40 per month. In exchange, you pay a copay of up to $20 for office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don’t result in inpatient admission. Plan N also doesn’t cover Part B excess charges, which are extra amounts some doctors charge above what Medicare approves.

If you’re seeing doctors regularly, those $20 copays add up. Someone making 30 office visits a year is paying an extra $600 out of pocket with Plan N. Depending on premium differences in your state, that might still come out ahead. Or it might not. You have to run your own numbers.

That said, for someone who’s relatively healthy, doesn’t see specialists constantly, and sticks to Medicare assignment doctors (which most doctors do), Plan N is a legitimate choice. For someone with multiple chronic conditions who’s in and out of offices frequently, Plan G is usually the better call even with the higher premium.

The Part A deductible coverage is identical either way. Both plans protect you there. The distinction really lives in the outpatient side of Medicare, which is Part B territory.

Bottom Line

For most people turning 65 today, Plan G is the right answer. It covers the 2026 Part A deductible of $1,676 fully, every benefit period, without requiring you to gamble on your health staying perfect. The premium is reasonable, the coverage is predictable, and the peace of mind is worth it. If you’re in excellent health, cost-conscious, and disciplined about only seeing Medicare-assignment providers, Plan N is worth a close look as a runner-up, but Plan G wins for most people most of the time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Medicare Part A have a deductible every year?

Not exactly. The Part A deductible applies per benefit period, not per calendar year. A benefit period starts when you’re admitted as an inpatient and ends 60 days after you’ve left all inpatient care. You could theoretically owe the deductible twice in the same calendar year if your hospital stays are separated by more than 60 days. In 2026, that deductible is $1,676 per benefit period.

Which Medigap plans cover the Part A deductible completely?

Plans B, D, F (if you’re eligible), G, and N all cover the Part A deductible in full. Plans K and L cover it partially. Plan A doesn’t cover it at all. Among current enrollees, Plans G and N are by far the most commonly purchased because they offer solid Part A coverage at reasonable premiums.

What if I already have a Medigap plan that doesn’t cover the Part A deductible? Can I switch?

You can apply to switch, but outside of your initial enrollment window, you’ll likely face medical underwriting. That means the insurance company can review your health history and potentially deny you coverage or charge higher rates based on pre-existing conditions. The rules vary by state, so check your state’s specific protections. Some states have annual guaranteed issue windows. If you’re healthy, switching to Plan G sooner rather than later is worth doing before any health issues arise.

Does Medigap cover the Part A deductible for skilled nursing facility stays too?

The Part A deductible applies to the initial hospital admission that qualifies you for skilled nursing facility coverage. The SNF stay itself has separate coinsurance rules: days 1-20 are fully covered, days 21-100 require coinsurance (in 2026, that’s $209.50 per day), and after day 100 Medicare stops paying entirely. Plans G and N cover that SNF coinsurance for days 21-100. Plan A does not. So yes, the Part A deductible and SNF coinsurance are both things your Medigap plan can cover depending on which plan you choose.