Medigap Plan K
Plan K is a cost-sharing plan: it pays your Part A hospital coinsurance in full, then 50% of most other gaps — Part B coinsurance, blood, hospice cost-sharing, skilled nursing coinsurance, and the Part A deductible. The trade comes with a safety valve: once you've met the annual Part B deductible and your out-of-pocket spending for the year reaches $8,000 in 2026, the plan pays 100% of Medicare-covered costs for the rest of the calendar year.
Who Plan K tends to fit
- People who want a hard annual ceiling on a bad year and are comfortable paying half of most cost-sharing on the way there.
- People who mostly stay healthy but want catastrophic protection — the $8,000 limit turns Original Medicare's open-ended exposure into a known worst case.
- Budget-focused shoppers also comparing High-Deductible Plan G, the other pay-as-you-go, capped-worst-case design.
The trade-offs
- Half of everything adds up: 50% of the $1,736 Part A deductible and 50% of the 20% Part B coinsurance are real bills in a busy year, and the 100% coverage only starts after you've spent $8,000.
- No foreign travel emergency benefit, and Part B excess charges aren't covered — and what you pay in excess charges doesn't count toward the out-of-pocket limit.
- The limit resets every January and CMS adjusts it annually — the ceiling is an annual figure, not a lifetime one.