Minnesota health insurance, explained

Medicare Supplement vs. Medicare Advantage in Minnesota

Once you have Part A and Part B, there are two ways to fill in what Medicare leaves out, and you can only hold one at a time. A Medicare Supplement (Medigap) keeps Original Medicare in charge and pays the gaps, so you can see any doctor in the country who takes Medicare. A Medicare Advantage plan replaces the way you use Medicare with a private plan that has a network, a yearly cap on what you pay, and usually drug coverage built in. Minnesota does the supplement side differently from the rest of the country, and that is where most of the bad advice comes from.

Written by Pat Bernauer, licensed Minnesota insurance agent (NPN 32897) · Reviewed by Spencer Bernauer (NPN 18100632) · Updated September 19, 2026

We’re in Northeast Minneapolis and Lakeville, licensed in all 87 Minnesota counties since 1986.

Compare my Medicare options Call Pat · 952-457-5894

The short answer

If you want to keep every doctor and hospital open to you and pay a predictable premium instead of surprise bills, a Supplement is usually the answer — and in Minnesota that means a Basic or Extended Basic plan, not the “Plan G” every national website talks about. If you want a lower monthly premium, are comfortable staying in a network and getting approvals, and want dental, vision and drug coverage on one card, Medicare Advantage is built for that.

The decision you cannot easily undo is the first one. After your six-month Supplement window closes, a company can ask health questions before selling you one. Going from a Supplement to Advantage is easy any fall; going the other way, later, depends on your health.

Side by side

Who pays your claims: Medicare SupplementOriginal Medicare pays first; the Supplement pays the gaps Medicare leaves.; Medicare AdvantageThe private plan pays instead of Original Medicare, under Medicare’s rules.
Doctors and hospitals: Medicare SupplementAny doctor or hospital in the U.S. that takes Medicare. No network, no referrals.; Medicare AdvantageIn most plans, the plan’s network and service area. Specialists may need a referral.
Approvals: Medicare SupplementNo prior authorization for Original Medicare services.; Medicare AdvantageThe plan may require prior authorization before it covers certain services.
Monthly cost: Medicare SupplementThe Part B premium plus the Supplement’s premium — in Minnesota, the same premium for everyone on the same policy, whatever their age.; Medicare AdvantageThe Part B premium plus the plan’s premium, which is often $0.
Cost when you are sick: Medicare SupplementLittle to nothing, depending on the plan and riders. Original Medicare on its own has no yearly out-of-pocket limit; the Supplement is what puts one there.; Medicare AdvantageCopays and coinsurance as you go, up to the plan’s yearly limit on covered Medicare services.
Drug coverage: Medicare SupplementNot included — you add a separate Part D plan.; Medicare AdvantageMost plans include Part D.
Dental, vision, hearing: Medicare SupplementNot included. Bought separately if you want it.; Medicare AdvantageMost plans add some. Read the limits; they vary a lot.
Travel: Medicare SupplementWorks anywhere in the U.S. Extended Basic pays 80% of emergency care abroad.; Medicare AdvantageEmergencies are covered; routine care outside the service area usually is not.
Changing your mind: Medicare SupplementGuaranteed acceptance only in set windows (below). Otherwise a company can ask health questions.; Medicare AdvantageChange plans every fall, October 15 to December 7, and once more January 1 to March 31 if you are already in one.
Can you have both?: No. In Medicare.gov’s words: “you can either buy Medigap or enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, but you can’t have both.”

	Medicare Supplement (Medigap)	Medicare Advantage (Part C)
Who pays your claims	Original Medicare pays first; the Supplement pays the gaps Medicare leaves.	The private plan pays instead of Original Medicare, under Medicare’s rules.
Doctors and hospitals	Any doctor or hospital in the U.S. that takes Medicare. No network, no referrals.	In most plans, the plan’s network and service area. Specialists may need a referral.
Approvals	No prior authorization for Original Medicare services.	The plan may require prior authorization before it covers certain services.
Monthly cost	The Part B premium plus the Supplement’s premium — in Minnesota, the same premium for everyone on the same policy, whatever their age.	The Part B premium plus the plan’s premium, which is often $0.
Cost when you are sick	Little to nothing, depending on the plan and riders. Original Medicare on its own has no yearly out-of-pocket limit; the Supplement is what puts one there.	Copays and coinsurance as you go, up to the plan’s yearly limit on covered Medicare services.
Drug coverage	Not included — you add a separate Part D plan.	Most plans include Part D.
Dental, vision, hearing	Not included. Bought separately if you want it.	Most plans add some. Read the limits; they vary a lot.
Travel	Works anywhere in the U.S. Extended Basic pays 80% of emergency care abroad.	Emergencies are covered; routine care outside the service area usually is not.
Changing your mind	Guaranteed acceptance only in set windows (below). Otherwise a company can ask health questions.	Change plans every fall, October 15 to December 7, and once more January 1 to March 31 if you are already in one.
Can you have both?	No. In Medicare.gov’s words: “you can either buy Medigap or enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, but you can’t have both.”

What Minnesota does differently

Minnesota, Massachusetts and Wisconsin standardized Medicare Supplement plans before the federal government did, and kept the right to their own designs. So the lettered plans — A through N, the Plan G on every comparison site — are not what is sold here. Minnesota has two.

The Basic Plan: build it up

The foundation. It pays the Part A and Part B coinsurance, hospice cost-sharing and the first three pints of blood — the gaps that turn a hospital stay into a bill. You then add riders for what else you want covered:

Part A hospital deductible
Part B excess charges — what a doctor may bill above Medicare’s approved amount
Preventive care beyond what Medicare covers
A $20 or $50 Part B copay version that lowers the premium

The Extended Basic Plan: one package

The comprehensive version, sold whole rather than assembled. On top of everything Basic covers, it adds the Part A hospital deductible, 120 days of skilled nursing coinsurance against 100 on Basic, 80% of Part B excess charges, 80% of emergency care in a foreign country, and preventive care. Higher premium, fewer decisions — the plan most people picture when they say “the good supplement.”

One rider is gone for newer enrollees: the Part B deductible can no longer be added by anyone who became eligible for Medicare in 2020 or later. That is a federal rule, not a Minnesota one.

Three Minnesota rules worth knowing

Everyone pays the same premium. Minnesota Supplement policies are community-rated: everyone on the same policy pays the same premium regardless of age, sex or when they bought it. Elsewhere premiums usually climb with your age; here they move only when the company raises rates for everyone. That makes the company’s rate history the thing to compare, not the benefits — a Basic Plan from one company covers exactly what a Basic Plan from another does.

Under 65 is covered. Minnesota law requires companies to sell you a Supplement even if you are on Medicare before 65 through disability. In many states they do not have to.

Two windows, not one. Minnesota gives you six months with no health questions after you enroll in Part B, and a second six months when you turn 65 — so someone who came onto Medicare through disability gets a fresh window at 65. Federal law only guarantees the first.

Who each one fits

A Supplement tends to suit you if you see specialists, split the year between Minnesota and somewhere warmer, want the Mayo Clinic or any hospital open to you without asking permission, or simply want to know in January what the year will cost. It is the choice that costs more every month and less when something goes wrong.

Advantage tends to suit you if your doctors are in the plan’s network and you are content to stay in it, you want drug, dental and vision coverage in one plan, your health is good, and a $0 or low premium matters more than a cap you may never reach. Plans are re-filed every year, so this is the choice that needs a look every fall.

We don’t push either. We put the two next to each other with your doctors and your prescriptions in the picture, and the answer is usually obvious once it is your name on it.

When you can switch — and when you can’t

October 15 to December 7: Medicare Annual Enrollment. Anyone can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D plan, or move between Original Medicare and Advantage in either direction. Changes start January 1.
January 1 to March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. Only for people already in an Advantage plan on January 1: switch to another Advantage plan, or go back to Original Medicare. One change.
Six months after Part B, and six months at 65: Minnesota’s guaranteed Supplement windows. No health questions, no higher premium for a condition. After they close, a company can medically underwrite you.
The first year on Advantage: The trial right. If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan when you first became eligible at 65 and switch back to Original Medicare within the first year, federal law lets you buy a Supplement without health questions. It is the one clean exit from Advantage — and it is one year, once.

Window	What you can do
October 15 to December 7	Medicare Annual Enrollment. Anyone can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D plan, or move between Original Medicare and Advantage in either direction. Changes start January 1.
January 1 to March 31	Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. Only for people already in an Advantage plan on January 1: switch to another Advantage plan, or go back to Original Medicare. One change.
Six months after Part B, and six months at 65	Minnesota’s guaranteed Supplement windows. No health questions, no higher premium for a condition. After they close, a company can medically underwrite you.
The first year on Advantage	The trial right. If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan when you first became eligible at 65 and switch back to Original Medicare within the first year, federal law lets you buy a Supplement without health questions. It is the one clean exit from Advantage — and it is one year, once.

Going from a Supplement to Advantage is easy any fall. Going the other way, after the windows above, depends on your health. That asymmetry is the most important sentence on this page.

Questions we get about this

Is Plan G available in Minnesota?

No — and neither is Plan N or Plan F. Minnesota sells a Basic Plan and an Extended Basic Plan instead, with riders you add to Basic. The coverage is comparable; the names and the way the plans are put together are not. Advice about Plan G is advice about a product you cannot buy here.

Can I have a Supplement and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time?

No. It is one or the other, and a Supplement will not pay anything toward an Advantage plan’s copays.

Does a Supplement have an annual enrollment period like Advantage plans?

No, and this is the one that costs people the most. Your guaranteed windows are the six months after you enroll in Part B and, in Minnesota, another six months at 65. They do not come back every autumn. Advantage and Part D plans can be changed every fall; a Supplement, after the window, only if a company agrees to take you.

Why would I pay a premium for a Supplement when the Advantage plan is $0?

Because the $0 is the premium, not the cost. An Advantage plan charges copays and coinsurance as you use it, up to a yearly limit; a Supplement charges you every month and then very little when you are ill. Which one is cheaper depends on how much care you end up needing, which nobody knows in advance — so it is really a question of which kind of bill you would rather have.

I’m on Medicare under 65. Can I get a Supplement?

In Minnesota, yes — state law requires companies to sell you one, and you get a six-month window with no health questions after enrolling in Part B, then a second one when you turn 65.

How do I choose between Supplement companies?

Not on benefits: Minnesota standardizes them. Compare the premium today and the company’s history of rate increases, because every policy is community-rated and moves for everyone at once. The Minnesota Department of Commerce publishes every company’s premiums in one guide each year, and we go through it with you.

Ask us the version that is about you.

Pat or Spencer reads every request personally. Certified MNsure brokers, independent since 1986, and there is no charge for the conversation.

Compare my Medicare options Lakeville officePat · 952-457-5894 Northeast Minneapolis officeSpencer · 952-956-2502

Related guides

All 12 guides

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 11 organizations which offer 36 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.