AARP Medicare Supplement Plan G: What Medicare Agents Should Know About This Medigap Plan

Guest post by Aaron Arenbart.

AARP Medicare Supplement Plan G is a standardized Medigap Plan G, insured by UnitedHealthcare and sold under the AARP brand. The benefits are the same standardized Plan G benefits found in any company's Plan G. What makes it different is the pricing structure around those benefits.

That structure trips up a lot of agents. An enrollment discount that steps down every year. A Level 2 rate for applicants with certain health conditions. A rating method that changes from state to state.

Having worked on both the carrier side and the distribution side of this business, I'd put it this way. The client compares the first-year premium. The agent needs to explain what that premium does in year five. Here is what UnitedHealthcare publishes about the plan, with links to the carrier documents and to Medicare.gov.

What the AARP Medicare Supplement plans are

From the carrier's Your Guide to AARP Medicare Supplement and Medicare Select Insurance Plans (Ohio version, GU25156OH) and the UnitedHealthcare Plan G page:

• Insurer: UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut, under group policy form GRP 79171 GPS-1 (G-36000-4). In New York, the insurer is UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, per the New York outline of coverage.

• Group structure: the policy is issued to the Trustees of the AARP Insurance Plan, a trust AARP set up to hold the master group policies. Clients receive a certificate of insurance.

• Membership: per the Ohio guide, the applicant must be an AARP member or the spouse of a member. The Texas enrollment discount sheet says non-members can join when they enroll for $20 a year.

• Who insures it: AARP is not the insurer. The disclosures state that UnitedHealthcare pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property, and that AARP does not employ or endorse agents.

• Cancellation: the certificate cannot be canceled because of age, health or the number of claims. It can be canceled for nonpayment or material misrepresentation.

What Plan G covers, and what it doesn't

Plan G is standardized, so the benefit grid matches Medicare.gov's Medigap comparison chart. UnitedHealthcare's Plan G benefit table (BT116, 1/26) lays it out using 2026 Medicare amounts:

• Part A: the $1,736 inpatient deductible, the daily hospital coinsurance for days 61 to 90 and lifetime reserve days, and 365 more hospital days after Medicare benefits are used up.

• Skilled nursing facility: the $217 daily coinsurance for days 21 to 100.

• Part B: the 20% coinsurance after the deductible, plus 100% of Part B excess charges.

• Blood and hospice: the first three pints of blood and Part A hospice coinsurance.

• Foreign travel emergency: 80% after a $250 calendar-year deductible, up to a $50,000 lifetime maximum, for care that begins in the first 60 days of a trip.

What the client still pays: the Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026 per Medicare.gov's cost page. That is the one piece of Medicare cost sharing Plan G leaves to the client. CMS announces the next year's Part A and Part B amounts each fall, so update the numbers in your presentation when the new figures come out.

High-deductible G and Medicare Select G

Two variations show up in some states.

High-deductible Plan G. The client pays Medicare-covered costs up to a plan deductible, $2,950 in 2026, before the plan pays. The Part B deductible counts toward it. Florida's outline of coverage lists high-deductible G. The Ohio outline doesn't.

Medicare Select Plan G. Same benefits as standard Plan G, with hospital restrictions. Per the Ohio guide, benefits are payable only at select network hospitals, except for a medical emergency, when covered services aren't available from a select hospital in the service area, or for care at a non-select hospital more than 100 miles from home. In that last case the plan may pay 75% of the Part A deductible and 75% of Part A eligible expenses Medicare doesn't pay.

The same guide gives Select members a right to move to an AARP Medicare Supplement plan with the same or lesser benefits, without evidence of insurability. Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide notes Select policies generally cost less, but the client pays some or all of the gap for non-emergency care outside the network.

In Ohio, the female non-tobacco Select G rate at age 65 is $137.55 against $183.30 for standard Plan G, per the Ohio outline of coverage. Before you present Select, confirm the client's hospital is in the network.

The Standard Rate and the enrollment discount

This is the part to understand before you quote.

In many states, UnitedHealthcare prices Plan G off a Standard Rate, then applies an enrollment discount based on the client's age on the plan effective date. The discount steps down 3% every year on the plan anniversary until it is gone.

There are at least two published schedules:

• California version (MI10189S1): 36% at 65, dropping 3% a year, to 3% at 76 and 0% at 77.

• Ohio and Texas version (MI10189ST, MI10189TX): 39% for ages 65 through 68, then dropping 3% a year, to 3% at 80 and 0% at 81.

Eligibility depends on age, how long the client has had Part B and health. On the Ohio schedule, the client must be 65 to 74, or 75 to 80 with a plan effective date within 10 years of the Part B effective date. On the California schedule, the upper band is 75 to 76. Either way, the client can't have any of the medical conditions on the application, unless they are within six months of their Part B effective date or in a guaranteed issue situation.

Here is the napkin math from the Ohio outline. A 65-year-old woman, non-tobacco, Plan G:

• Standard Rate: $300.50 a month.

• 39% enrollment discount: $300.50 times 0.61 is $183.30.

• When the discount runs out at 81, she pays the Standard Rate in effect at that time.

That is $117.20 a month of discount that unwinds over time. On top of that, the Ohio outline says the Standard Rates usually change each year. Both move the premium, and the discount steps happen on the plan anniversary date.

None of that makes the plan good or bad. It makes year one a poor way to compare it. Show the client the Standard Rate next to the discounted rate, every time.

Level 1, Level 2 and the health questions

Outside open enrollment and guaranteed issue, the application asks health questions. In several states, the answer doesn't just decide approved or declined. It decides which rate table applies.

From the Ohio outline of coverage (rates for June 2026 to May 2027 effective dates):

• Group 1: plan effective date within 10 years of the 65th birthday or Part B effective date, if later. Standard Rate with enrollment discount for ages 65 to 80. Standard Rate at 81 and up.

• Group 2: plan effective date 10 or more years after the 65th birthday or Part B effective date. Level 1 rates for applicants 75 and older whose acceptance is guaranteed or who have none of the listed conditions.

• Level 2: for applicants whose acceptance isn't guaranteed and who have one or more of the medical conditions on the application.

The gap is real. For a woman, non-tobacco, Plan G in Ohio, the Standard Rate is $300.50, the Group 2 Level 1 rate is $330.55 and the Level 2 rate is $561.93. The outline says Level 2 rates don't apply to people in their Medigap open enrollment period or with guaranteed issue.

Ohio and Mississippi rate pages show Level 2 rates for Group 1 and Group 2. California Area 1's rate page shows Level 2 only under Group 2. Check the rate page for the client's state and area.

Two more pricing details from the Ohio outline. Tobacco rates are 10% higher than non-tobacco rates, and tobacco rates don't apply during open enrollment or guaranteed issue. A multi-insured discount of 7% may apply when two members are enrolled under the same AARP membership number and each has an eligible AARP-branded supplemental policy with UnitedHealthcare.

My advice: ask the health questions before you quote a number. A client who is told $183 and later hears $561 will not trust the next thing you say.

Pricing changes by state

Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide describes three pricing methods: community-rated, issue-age-rated and attained-age-rated. Medicare.gov's Medigap costs page adds that discounts, underwriting-based pricing and Select options also affect price. Within one brand, the carrier's state documents show different approaches:

• Ohio: a single Standard Rate for each plan, with the enrollment discount creating lower rates at younger ages, plus gender and tobacco tables and Level 2.

• California Area 1: one table for both genders, the 36% schedule, and a Standard Rate from age 77.

• Florida: a rate table that rises with age, a separate rate for ages 50 to 64, and a 3% multi-insured discount for two insured AARP members on the same membership number at the same household address.

• New York: one Standard Rate per plan by rating area, on a January to December rate period, with ongoing guaranteed acceptance under New York's rules.

• Texas: Plans A, C, F, G, K, L and N are offered, with separate rate groups for people under 65 who have Medicare because of disability, ESRD or ALS, per the Texas outline of coverage.

The takeaway: don't carry a pitch from one state into another. Pull the outline of coverage for the client's ZIP code.

Eligibility, under-65 clients and pre-existing condition waiting periods

Age. The Ohio guide requires age 65 or older. The California, Texas, Florida and Mississippi guides allow applicants as young as 50 who have Medicare, with conditions. Texas, for example, requires a disabled applicant age 50 to 64 to enroll within six months of enrolling in Part B unless they have a guaranteed issue right. Medicare.gov's Get ready to buy page confirms federal law generally doesn't require insurers to sell Medigap to people under 65, and states set their own rules.

Pre-existing conditions. The waiting period varies by state:

• Ohio: claims in the first 3 months for a condition treated or advised within 3 months before the effective date aren't covered, with waivers for replacing creditable coverage within 63 days, open enrollment and guaranteed issue.

• New York: the New York guide uses a 6-month look-back and 6-month waiting period, waived for people turning 65 who apply within six months and for people with other coverage in the last 63 days.

Federal rules cap the waiting period at six months, per Medicare's Medigap guide.

Guaranteed issue. The Ohio guide requires the application within 63 days after prior coverage ends, with proof of the coverage lost or replaced. The California guide allows 123 days for an involuntary loss of a Medicare Advantage plan and describes California's annual 60-day birthday enrollment period for clients replacing a Medigap plan with one of equal or lesser benefits. For plan exits, see our guide to MA plan exits and guaranteed issue Medigap.

Wellness extras: what they are and what they aren't

UnitedHealthcare markets Plan G with "wellness extras." Per the wellness extras page, they include:

• The Renew Active fitness program, including a gym membership at no additional cost.

• Discounts on dental, vision and hearing services, including an additional $100 off per name-brand prescription hearing aid on top of the AARP member rate.

• A 24/7 nurse line and AARP Staying Sharp brain health content.

The carrier's disclosure is the part to repeat to clients. These are member services apart from the plan benefits, are not insurance programs, are subject to geographic availability and may be discontinued at any time. Some are provided by third parties.

So present them as extras. A discount program is not dental coverage. If the client needs real dental benefits, that is a separate policy and a separate conversation.

Where it fits in a Medicare conversation

Replacing an existing Medigap. Every outline says the same thing: don't cancel the old policy until the new one is in force and the client is sure. The Ohio outline gives a 30-day right to return. The Rules and Disclosures page in the California materials adds that any premium refund is reduced by claims paid in that window.

Moving from Medicare Advantage. Outside guaranteed issue, the client answers health questions, and the answers may decide Level 1 or Level 2 pricing. Our post on whether MA clients can switch to Medigap covers the bigger picture.

Rate increase letters. When a client gets a rate increase on another plan, underwriting comes first, then the quote. Our Medigap rate increase re-shop guide and Medicare Supplement underwriting guide walk through the steps.

Answers have to be complete. The Rules and Disclosures page warns that the company may cancel the certificate and refuse claims if important medical information is left out or falsified. Read the questions word for word.

What to verify before you quote

• The outline of coverage for the client's ZIP code, including which plans are offered and the effective-date window for the rates.

• The enrollment discount schedule for that state, and the client's age and Part B effective date.

• The health questions, and whether the answers point to Level 1 or Level 2 pricing.

• Group 1 or Group 2, based on the 65th birthday or Part B effective date.

• Tobacco status and any multi-insured discount.

• The Select network hospitals, if you are quoting Select G.

• AARP membership, which must be in place to enroll.

• The certificate for the client's state, which governs over any guide or summary.

FAQ

Is AARP Medicare Supplement Plan G different from other Plan G policies?

The benefits are the same standardized Plan G benefits. Medicare.gov says the price is the only difference between policies with the same letter from different companies. Pricing, discounts, Level 2 rates and wellness extras are where the AARP plans differ.

How does the AARP Medicare Supplement enrollment discount work?

It is a percentage off the Standard Rate based on age at the plan effective date. Depending on the state schedule, it starts at 36% or 39% and drops 3% a year on the plan anniversary until it reaches zero at 77 or 81.

What is a Level 2 rate on an AARP Medicare Supplement plan?

In states that use it, Level 2 is a higher rate for applicants whose acceptance isn't guaranteed and who have one or more of the medical conditions on the application. It doesn't apply during Medigap open enrollment or guaranteed issue.

Do clients need to be AARP members?

Yes. UnitedHealthcare's materials say the client must be an AARP member to enroll, and the state guides for Ohio, California, Texas, Florida and Mississippi also allow the spouse of a member.

The Bottom Line

AARP Medicare Supplement Plan G is a standard Plan G. The pricing is not standard.

Know the Standard Rate. Know the discount schedule. Ask the health questions first. Pull the outline for the client's state.

If you want help building a Medigap process that holds up after year one, book a call with Brock or join one of our weekly agent webinars.

Product details are from UnitedHealthcare's AARP Medicare Supplement outlines of coverage for Ohio, Florida, Texas and New York, the California Area 1 rate page, enrollment discount sheets MI10189S1, MI10189ST and MI10189TX (2026), Plan G benefit table BT116 (1/26), state guides, and UnitedHealthcare's Plan G and wellness extras pages, reviewed October 22, 2026. Rates shown are for the effective-date windows stated in those documents and may change. Plans, discounts and rules vary by state. Always confirm in current carrier materials.