3.2 Alaska Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Regulations

Alaska Life & Health Insurance State

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1 Introduction: Alaska Life & Health Insurance Exam Overview

Alaska Life & Health Exam Overview

2 Chapter 1: Alaska Insurance Regulation & Licensing

1.1 Alaska Division of Insurance 1.2 Alaska Producer Licensing Requirements 1.3 License Maintenance and Continuing Education

3 Chapter 2: Alaska Life Insurance Laws

2.1 Alaska Life Insurance Policy Requirements 2.2 Alaska Annuity Regulations 2.3 Alaska Replacement Rules

4 Chapter 3: Alaska Health Insurance Laws

3.1 Alaska Health Insurance Policy Requirements 3.2 Alaska Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Regulations 3.3 Alaska Disability and Long-Term Care Insurance

5 Chapter 4: Alaska Insurance Ethics & Prohibited Practices

4.1 Unfair Trade Practices 4.2 Producer Conduct and Fiduciary Duties 4.3 Alaska Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association

3.2 Alaska Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Regulations

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Alaska's Medigap open enrollment is a one-time 6-month window that begins when the applicant is both age 65 and enrolled in Medicare Part B.

During open enrollment, Medigap is guaranteed issue with no pre-existing condition waiting period and no health-based rate-up.

Alaska does NOT have a California-style Birthday Rule; outside protected windows, insurers may medically underwrite plan switches.

Medigap plans are federally standardized A through N; Plans C and F are closed to anyone newly eligible on or after January 1, 2020.

Guaranteed issue rights are triggered by qualifying events, generally with a 63-day window to apply.

Last updated: June 2026

The 6-Month Open Enrollment Window

Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies pay the gaps in Original Medicare — deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. The single most-tested Alaska rule is the 6-month Medigap open enrollment period (OEP) .

The window opens on the first day of the month in which the applicant is both :

age 65 or older , and

enrolled in Medicare Part B .

It is a one-time window and does not reset annually. During those six months the applicant has the strongest possible rights:

Guaranteed issue — the insurer must accept the applicant regardless of health.

No pre-existing condition waiting period if the applicant had at least 6 months of prior creditable coverage.

No health-based rate-up — the applicant pays the same rate as a healthy buyer.

Any plan offered by the insurer, A through N, is available.

Trap: The trigger is age 65 plus Part B , not merely turning 65. Someone who delays Part B because of active employer coverage does not start the clock until Part B begins.

No Birthday Rule

A handful of states (notably California) have a Birthday Rule that lets enrollees switch to an equal or lesser Medigap plan each year around their birthday without underwriting. Alaska has no Birthday Rule.

Situation Alaska treatment
Initial enrollment (65 + Part B) Guaranteed issue
Switching plans during the year Underwriting allowed
Loss of other coverage Guaranteed issue (63-day window)
Leaving Medicare Advantage in trial period Guaranteed issue

Worked example: Bob, age 70, has Plan G and feels healthy. He wants to switch to a cheaper Plan N. In California a Birthday Rule might let him do this without health questions; in Alaska the new insurer may ask health questions and decline him. The right advice is to apply only when a guaranteed issue right exists.

Guaranteed Issue Triggering Events

Outside the 6-month OEP, federal guaranteed issue (GI) rights still protect applicants after certain events, generally with a 63-day application window:

Triggering event GI right
Loss of employer group health coverage Buy Medigap within 63 days
Medicare Advantage plan leaves the service area or ends Return to Medigap
Medigap insurer becomes insolvent Switch to a comparable plan
Moving out of a plan's service area Buy a new plan

During a GI event the insurer cannot deny coverage, cannot impose a pre-existing condition waiting period, and cannot charge more for health status — but the menu of plans may be limited to A, B, C, D, F, G, K, or L depending on eligibility date.

The Medicare Advantage Trial Right

Alaska honors the federal trial right . A beneficiary who drops a Medigap policy to try a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan for the first time may change their mind within 12 months and:

return to the exact same Medigap policy if the insurer still sells it, or
buy any Medigap plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K, or L from any insurer in the state,

on a guaranteed issue basis with no health questions.

The same 12-month trial right applies to someone who joined an MA plan when first eligible for Medicare at 65 and disenrolls within the first year.

Standardized Plans A Through N

Medigap plans are federally standardized , so a Plan G in Alaska covers exactly what a Plan G covers anywhere else — only price and service differ. Memorize which plans are closed .

Plan Key feature
A Core benefits only
B Core + Part A deductible
C Includes Part B deductible — closed to new enrollees on/after 1/1/2020
D Comprehensive, no Part B deductible
F Most comprehensive — closed to new enrollees on/after 1/1/2020
G Like F but no Part B deductible (top seller today)
K 50% cost sharing with out-of-pocket maximum
L 75% cost sharing with out-of-pocket maximum
M 50% of Part A deductible
N Copays for office and ER visits

Trap: Plans C and F are barred for anyone who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 , because both cover the Part B deductible. People eligible before that date may keep or buy them.

Rating Methods and Pre-Existing Conditions

Alaska permits three rating methods, all subject to Division rate filing:

Attained-age — premium rises as the insured ages (cheapest at issue, costliest later).

Issue-age — premium locked to age at purchase; does not rise with age.

Community — same premium regardless of age.

Pre-existing conditions: During open enrollment, no waiting period applies. Outside open enrollment an insurer may impose up to a 6-month waiting period for conditions treated or diagnosed in the 6 months before the effective date, reduced by any prior creditable coverage.

What Medigap Does and Does Not Cover

Medigap fills gaps in Original Medicare (Parts A and B) only. It is critical for the exam to keep these boundaries straight:

Medigap pays the Part A hospital deductible , coinsurance, and skilled nursing facility coinsurance, plus the Part B 20% coinsurance, depending on plan letter.

Medigap does not include prescription drug coverage — that requires a separate Part D plan.

A beneficiary cannot hold both a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time; Medigap pays nothing toward MA cost sharing.

It is illegal for a producer to sell a second Medigap policy to someone who already has one, or to sell Medigap to someone enrolled in Medicaid.

Trap: A common distractor claims Medigap includes drug coverage. Since 2006, newly issued Medigap plans exclude drugs; the buyer needs a stand-alone Part D plan.