Medigap High-Deductible Plan G 2027: CMS Sets the Deductible at $3,050, Up $100 From $2,950

The CMS series, 2019 to 2027

The CMS announcement page carries one short document per year. We opened the nine from October 2018 to October 2026 and put the figures side by side. The 2019 document covers only Plans F and J, because high-deductible Plan G did not yet exist; the October 2019 document is the first to name Plans G, F and J together.

Source: CMS “F, G & J Deductible Announcements,” one document per year (links in the CSV). The change column is our arithmetic on the rounded deductibles, so it can differ slightly from the CPI-U percentage CMS states. The CPI-U percentage in each document describes the change between the two years it names; we show it against the calendar year in which the deductible takes effect.

Two things stand out. The 2027 step of $100 equals 2024's and trails 2023 ($210) and 2022 ($120), and the amount has risen every year, because the formula only moves with the CPI-U. And the rounding matters at this size: the deductible is rounded to the nearest $10, so a quarter of a percentage point of CPI-U moves it by about $7 to $8 before rounding.

The rule behind the number

CMS states the mechanism in each announcement. The deductible “is determined in accordance with section 1882(p)(11)(C)(i) of the Social Security Act.” That provision “prescribed a deductible of $1,500 for 1998 and 1999 and directed that the amount increase each subsequent year by the percent increase in the CPI-U, all items, US city average.” CMS “updates the deductible amount for plans G, F and J each year, after release of the August Consumer Price Index” figures. The result is rounded to the nearest $10 under paragraph (ii).

That makes next year forecastable in outline: the 2028 figure will come from the same chain and the next August CPI-U release, and it will be announced in October 2027. We do not forecast it here. What the rule guarantees is direction: the deductible cannot fall unless the CPI-U falls.

What the deductible covers, and what it does not

CMS says the deductible “represents the annual out-of-pocket expenses (excluding premiums) that a beneficiary must pay before these policies begin paying benefits.” Medicare.gov, on its Medigap compare chart, puts it in cost-sharing terms for 2026: you “must pay up to $2,950 in 2026 for Medicare-covered costs (coinsurance, copayments and deductibles) before your policy pays anything.” So three things follow:

• Premiums are outside it. The Part B premium, including any IRMAA surcharge, and the Medigap premium itself do not count toward the $3,050. See our IRMAA brackets page for the surcharge, which is the same whichever Medigap plan you hold.
• The Part A and Part B deductibles do count. Medicare.gov lists the 2026 Part B deductible as $283 a year and the Part A deductible as $1,736 for each inpatient hospital benefit period. A hospital stay plus the Part B deductible therefore moves a high-deductible owner most of the way to the line.
• The counter resets each calendar year. It is an annual amount, so a bad January and a quiet December are measured in the same year.

We did not find the 2027 Part B or Part A deductible in a saved source on November 6, 2026, so the 2027 break-even figures below use the 2026 Part B deductible of $283 and say so.

Who can buy Plan G, and who can buy Plan F

The CMS wording is specific. “The high deductible version of Plan F is only available to those who are not new to Medicare before 1/1/2020. High deductible Plan G is available to individuals who are new to Medicare on or after 1/1/2020.” CMS defines new to Medicare as those who “turn 65 on or after January 1, 2020, and those who first become eligible for Medicare benefits due to age, disability or ESRD on or after January 1, 2020.”

Source: CMS October 2026 announcement; Medicare.gov “Compare Medigap Plan Benefits,” read November 6, 2026. The right-hand column is our reading, not a CMS statement.

Break-even against standard Plan G (our arithmetic)

A standard Plan G leaves the Part B deductible to you ($283 in 2026, per Medicare.gov; our reading of its compare chart, whose benefit marks are icons we could not read as text). A high-deductible Plan G leaves you all Medicare-covered cost sharing up to the deductible, which includes that same $283. So in any year:

• Extra cost of the high-deductible plan = the lesser of your cost sharing and $3,050, minus the lesser of your cost sharing and $283.
• The most it can cost you extra = $3,050 minus $283 = $2,767 for 2027 ($2,667 for 2026).
• It breaks even when the extra cost equals the premium you save over the year. For a premium saving S, that happens at Medicare-covered cost sharing of $283 + S (as long as S is under $2,767).
• Full-year ceiling: if you reach the deductible every year, the high-deductible plan wins only if it saves more than $2,767 ÷ 12 = $230.58 a month (2027), or $222.25 for 2026.

The premium gap is the unknown. We did not find a CMS or state department of insurance table of high-deductible Plan G premiums, so the premium gaps below are assumed inputs, not quotes.

Source: our arithmetic from the CMS 2027 deductible ($3,050) and the Medicare.gov 2026 Part B deductible ($283). The savings are hypothetical, not quoted premiums. The comparison ignores that premiums differ by age, state and company, and any cost outside Medicare-covered services.

A second example uses a hospital stay. The Medicare.gov 2026 Part A deductible is $1,736 and the Part B deductible is $283, together $2,019 (our arithmetic). A standard Plan G owner pays $283 of that; a high-deductible owner pays all $2,019, because it is under $3,050. The extra cost is $1,736, which a premium saving of $144.67 a month ($1,736 ÷ 12) would offset. If that same year also brought $2,000 of other Part B coinsurance, the high-deductible owner would reach the $3,050 line and the extra cost would be capped at $2,767.

What the formula leaves to the reader is the probability. A person who has had no Medicare-covered cost sharing beyond the Part B deductible for years keeps the premium saving every year. A person who expects a surgery, a hospital stay or ongoing treatment reaches the line. The household's own claims history, not the plan, is what separates the two.

What 2027 changes for a retiree with high income

For a retiree at $250,000 or more, the high-deductible plan is mostly a question of cash flow and tail risk, not of the Part B bill. The Part B premium and IRMAA are charged whichever Medigap plan you hold and never count toward the $3,050; our Medigap versus Medicare Advantage page sets out the Part B totals and the limits on the Medicare Advantage side. The deductible is a fixed dollar amount, so it is a smaller share of a large household's resources and a larger share of a tight one, and it grows at the CPI-U rate while the premium saving is set by the insurer.

If your Medicare Advantage plan is ending after December 31, 2026, the window to buy a Medigap policy without health questions is the subject of our plan exits page. Whether a high-deductible option is open to you at that point depends on the date you first became eligible for Medicare and on your state.

What a reader can do with this

• Ask for both quotes, in writing. Request standard Plan G and high-deductible Plan G from the same insurer for your age and state, and compute the monthly gap yourself. If the gap is under about $231, the high-deductible plan cannot beat standard Plan G in a full-deductible year (our arithmetic).
• Use your own claims. Add up last year's Medicare-covered coinsurance, copayments and deductibles from your Medicare Summary Notices. If they were near or above $3,050, the high-deductible plan would have cost you the full $2,767 more.
• Remember the counter excludes premiums. Part B premium, IRMAA and the Medigap premium never reach the deductible.
• Check your eligibility date. If you first became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, high-deductible Plan G is the option; for the Plan F version the CMS sentence points the other way.
• Mark the dates. The yearly election window ends December 7, 2026. We did not find the 2027 Part B premium and deductible in a saved source on November 6, 2026; re-run the break-even with the new $283 figure when they are out.
• Ask a counselor. CMS points people who need help with enrollment to their State Health Insurance Assistance Program.

This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice, and it does not recommend a plan or a company. A licensed insurance agent or a SHIP counselor can quote the actual plans.

Sources, read and saved on November 6, 2026: CMS “F, G & J Deductible Announcements” page (cms.gov/medicare/health-drug-plans/medigap/f-g-j-deductible-announcements, last modified 10/21/2026) and its nine annual announcements for calendar years 2019 to 2027 (October 2018 to October 2026); Medicare.gov “Compare Medigap Plan Benefits” and “Medicare costs” pages (2026 figures). We did not obtain premium data from a state department of insurance, and the 2027 Part B and Part A deductibles were not available in a saved source, so the break-even rows use the 2026 Part B deductible. All figures marked “our arithmetic” are ours.

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