The best Medicare Supplement insurance provider is AARP/UnitedHealthcare, according to Investopedia’s extensive research. It boasts excellent customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings, a wide range of plans, and affordable prices. But people who want the company with the very best customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings may prefer State Farm, while Anthem may have the lowest premiums in some states.
Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans must offer a minimum set of benefits in most states. Each lettered plan provides the same types of coverage, regardless of the insurer. But insurers can distinguish themselves with lower prices, extra benefits, or digital tools to make it easier to use your plan. Companies have varying levels of customer complaints, too, so comparing options is wise. Our top picks are based on cost, value, customer satisfaction, and other criteria.
Best Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Insurance
- Best Overall, Best Plan G: AARP/UnitedHealthcare
- Lowest Cost: Anthem
- Most Plan Types, Best Plan F: Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Best for Financial Strength, Best for Customer Satisfaction: State Farm
- Best High-Deductible Plan G: Humana
Best Overall, Best Plan G AARP/UnitedHealthcare
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- Average Plan G Premium: $268
- Customer Complaints: Better than expected for company size
There’s a lot to like about AARP/UnitedHealthcare’s (UHC’s) Medigap offerings, including lower-than-average premiums for the popular Plan G, nationwide availability, and lots of extra benefits for policyholders. UHC’s low complaint index with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) shows it received fewer customer complaints to state regulators than expected, given its size. And the company’s A+ from credit rating agency AM Best indicates it is well-placed to meet its insurance obligations many years into the future.1
Relatively few customer complaints
Excellent financial strength rating
Better-than-average premiums for standard Plan G
Policies available nationwide
Plans come with free gym membership and health care discounts
Expensive premiums for high-deductible Plan G
Lower loss ratio than some competitors
Requires AARP membership
UHC tops the list of companies Investopedia reviewed when looking to name the best Medigap providers, in part because of its competitive pricing for Plan G. Plan G is the most popular type of Medigap plan (along with Plan F, which is not available to new Medicare recipients). While Anthem and State Farm beat UHC’s average premiums for Plan G, UnitedHealthcare is more widely available and offers a community pricing model with discounts that some people may find attractive.
A community-rated model charges everyone similar premiums at the beginning, regardless of age, and raises premiums at the same rate for everyone. This differs from attained-age pricing, which many competitors use. Attained-age pricing offers lower premiums when you’re younger and increases them as you age.
Your costs with a community-rated plan will be higher initially, but they should grow more slowly over time than premiums for attained-age plans. UHC takes a hybrid approach by combining a community-pricing model with discounts to younger members that shrink over time.
UHC throws in some nice extras with its Medicare Supplement plans, such as a free gym membership and discounts on dental, vision, and hearing care. You must join AARP for $16 a year to buy a policy. But you can get discounts on premiums for making electronic payments from your bank account and having multiple household members enrolled.
There are a couple of things about UnitedHealthcare that give us pause. The company’s high-deductible Plan G premiums are expensive. UHC’s loss ratio is lower than that of some competitors, which indicates that it may be spending less of the premiums it collects on claims to policyholders.
UnitedHealth Group, established in 1977 and based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, offers Medicare Supplement plans in all 50 states.
Lowest Cost Anthem
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- Average Plan G Premium: $242
- Customer Complaints: As expected for a company of its size
When Investopedia gathered quotes for a variety of Medicare Supplement plans and age groups, we found Anthem had the best overall pricing and the lowest average premium for Plan G.
Best average premium for Plan G
10% household discount
Plans come with a fitness membership and health discounts
Only operates in 14 states
No high-deductible plans
Anthem is a Blue Cross Blue Shield company that sells up to four different plan types (A, G, N, and F) across 14 states. Prices differ by state, but the company’s average premiums for Plans F and G are lower than the industry average. Anthem had the lowest premiums for Plan G policies for 70- and 80-year-olds of the Medigap companies Investopedia researched. And in some states, if you cover multiple people in the same household, you can get a 10% discount.
Like UnitedHealthcare, Anthem offers Medigap policyholders extra benefits, such as a SilverSneakers fitness membership, prescription drug discounts, and savings on vitamins and weight loss programs. For an added cost, you can get prescription drug, dental, or vision coverage.
Customers made roughly the number of complaints to state regulators about Anthem as would be expected, given the company’s size. And AM Best granted the company an A grade, reflecting an “excellent” ability to pay its insurance claims.1
Founded in the 1940s, Anthem is based in Indianapolis and is now owned by Elevance Health.
Most Plan Types, Best Plan F Blue Cross Blue Shield
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- Average Plan G Premium: $295
- Customer Complaints: As expected for a company of its size
Although options vary by state, Blue Cross Blue Shield offers all 10 types of Medicare Supplement plans—something no other provider Investopedia researched can say. Its average Plan F premium is lower than the industry average, and the company offers a high-deductible Plan F.
Sells every plan type available
Offers extra benefits in most states
Household discount available in some states
Financial strength and other ratings vary by state
Premiums increase more with age than the industry average
Blue Cross Blue Shield is a group of 33 independent companies. Not counting Anthem, which we evaluated separately, the BCBS companies offer Medicare Supplement plans in 41 states. While their individual strengths vary, all have very good financial stability grades ranging from A+ to A-, and customers made about as many complaints to state regulators as expected, based on the group’s market share.
Across the BCBS companies, you can find every kind of Medicare Supplement plan and relatively low premiums for Plan F, though State Farm’s and UnitedHealthcare’s are even lower. Just be aware that BCBS premium prices rise more as you age than they do with some competitors. If you live with another person insured by BCBS, you may qualify for a discount.
Extra benefits are competitive and include premium discounts, a 24/7 nurse line, routine hearing exams, a free fitness membership, and discounts on health products and services. Depending on which state you live in, you may be able to add coverage for prescription drugs and dental care or a dental/vision/hearing package.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association was formed in 1982, but its companies have been in business since the early 1900s.
Best for Financial Strength, Best for Customer Satisfaction State Farm
Customer Complaints: Much better than expected for company size
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Over a three-year period, State Farm received far fewer complaints from policyholders than expected for its size, giving it the best NAIC complaint index of the Medigap companies Investopedia reviewed. It also earned an A++ AM Best rating, the credit rating agency's highest possible financial strength grade. No competitors can say that.
Highest financial strength rating possible
Very few customer complaints relative to its size
Low average premium for Plan G policies
No extra benefits or discounts
Lowest loss ratio of the major Medigap providers
Besides its stellar financial strength and customer complaint ratings, Investopedia editors were impressed by State Farm’s better-than-average pricing, with an especially low average premium for Plan G. However, unlike competitors, the company offers no high-deductible plans, Part D prescription coverage, or dental insurance add-ons.
State Farm also lacks additional benefits competitors offer, such as a gym membership, fitness app, or discounts on health products. It also has no premium discounts. Another point of concern: State Farm had the lowest loss ratio for 2022 of the Medigap companies Investopedia evaluated, a sign it may devote a smaller share of premiums to policyholder claims.
Headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, State Farm has been selling insurance since 1922.
Best High-Deductible Plan G Humana
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- Average Plan G Premium: $335
- Customer Complaints: Much worse than expected for company size
Humana’s high-deductible Plan G policy is widely available and costs less than average for the companies in Investopedia’s five-state cost survey. But in some states, Aetna or Blue Cross Blue Shield offer better premiums, and they have stronger customer satisfaction ratings, so be sure to compare options where you live.
Better-than-average premiums for high-deductible Plan G
Offers up to eight Medigap plans in 42 states
Generous discount for enrolled spouses who live together
Relatively high rate of customer complaints
Standard Plan G premiums are higher than average
Humana’s high-deductible option Plan G policy is sold in most states, and in Investopedia’s cost analysis of ZIP codes in five states (California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois), its average premium was just $93. That’s better than the industry average. In some states, you can get a generous 12% spouse discount to reduce your price further.
You can buy a Part D prescription drug plan from Humana, as well as a few dental, vision, and hearing packages—though some competitors’ offerings are cheaper. And Humana received a very respectable A financial strength rating from AM Best.
However, Humana’s premiums for the standard Plan G are high. More concerning: Humana’s complaint record is far worse than anyone else’s on this list.1 The NAIC complaint index indicates how many complaints state regulators receive about a company relative to its market share. A company with the expected number of complaints gets a 1. Humana’s complaint index is nearly a 4, indicating a very high number of complaints for a company of its size.2
Humana got its start in 1961 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.
Why Trust Us
Investopedia staff conducted weeks of extensive research and analysis to determine the best Medicare Supplement insurance providers. We collected almost 200 data points related to cost, product offerings, customer satisfaction, and more to create unbiased evaluations of nine insurers.
Investopedia has been a trustworthy source of financial information since 1999, and has years of experience bringing readers objective, data-driven reviews of financial products and services.
How We Chose the Best Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) Companies
To create this list of the best Medigap companies, Investopedia staff researchers first identified which providers to include in our survey. We consulted research from market intelligence and consulting firms, such as Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), Chartis Group, and McKinsey. These sources gave us insight into individual market share, enrollment growth, and nationwide availability for major Medicare providers in the United States. We used this information to narrow our focus to nine Medigap companies that met our baseline standards for availability, financial strength, and customer satisfaction.
For each of these companies, we looked at data from organizations such as the credit rating agency AM Best and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC collects customer complaints made to state regulators about insurance companies and presents the information in a complaint index, which reflects the number of complaints made relative to the company’s size.
We also mined data from government databases provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as from insurer websites, media representatives, and Investopedia business partners. Data collection occurred between Aug. 27 and Oct. 10, 2024.
We then fed that data into a quantitative model we developed that scored each Medigap company based on criteria our experts deemed most important when choosing an insurance provider. The criteria were weighted as follows, in broad terms:
- Costs: 38%
- Financials: 30%
- Plan Types: 17%
- Customer Satisfaction: 10%
- Nationwide Availability: 5%
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