Four out of five Franklin County residents live in Pasco: 85,560 of the county's 105,900 people on April 1, 2026, by OFM's count. So when a Medicare Advantage plan pulls out of Franklin County, it is mostly a Pasco story. Lourdes Medical Center, the only hospital the state lists in the county, is here too, on North Fourth Avenue. If your plan has said it won't continue in 2027, this page lays the decision out as a calendar, because in this situation the dates do most of the work.
Your calendar from here to March
| Date | What happens | What I'd do |
|---|---|---|
| Now through Dec 7, 2026 | Medicare Open Enrollment is open to everyone | Compare 2027 options on Medicare Plan Finder with your real drug list |
| Oct 26 – Nov 23 | PEBB retiree open enrollment | If your Medicare coverage comes through PEBB, call HCA instead of following this calendar |
| Nov 1 | OIC's start date for Medigap applications under your guaranteed issue right | Apply now if you're choosing Original Medicare and want a supplement starting Jan 1 |
| Dec 8 | Special enrollment period for people whose plan is ending opens | Don't treat this as extra time to wait |
| Dec 31 | Last day your current plan covers you | Have new coverage chosen by this day |
| Jan 1, 2027 | New coverage starts, or Original Medicare with no drug plan if you chose nothing | Use your new cards; call the plan if something is missing |
| January | Choices made this month start Feb 1 | Expect a month without the coverage you picked |
| Feb 28 | Special enrollment period closes; February choices start Mar 1 | Last day this special period lets you join a Medicare Advantage plan from Original Medicare |
| Mar 4 | Medigap guaranteed issue right ends (63 days after Dec 31) | After this, insurers may ask health questions |
Sources: CMS CY 2027 enrollment guidance; WA OIC; RCW 48.66.055; HCA PEBB retiree open enrollment page.
The table hides one exception worth spelling out. If you receive Extra Help with drug costs and don't pick anything, CMS assigns you to a stand-alone Part D plan, so you won't hit January without drug coverage. Everyone else who does nothing lands in Original Medicare with no prescription plan at all.
Pasco next to Franklin County
Pasco skews young. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey puts about 7,900 Pasco residents at 65 or older (margin ±435), around 9.9% of the city. Franklin County as a whole is 11.5% in OFM's 2025 estimate, the lowest of any county in the state.
CMS doesn't break Medicare enrollment out by city, so the county figures stand in. In July 2026, Franklin County had 12,804 beneficiaries. 4,759 of them (37.2%) were in Medicare Advantage and other health plans and 8,045 (62.8%) in Original Medicare. 2,477 had both Medicare and Apple Health, and 1,324 were under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability.
What do those numbers mean for you? Original Medicare is the majority arrangement here, not the exception. And if you are under 65, read the Medigap note below carefully, because your options differ from your 70-year-old neighbor's.
Picking between the two roads
Another Medicare Advantage plan keeps everything in one card, usually including drugs. Ask Lourdes and any Tri-Cities specialists whether they expect to be in that plan's 2027 network, and put your prescriptions through Plan Finder. If you join one for January 1, you can still make a single change between January 1 and March 31 under the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period.
Original Medicare works with any provider in the U.S. that accepts Medicare, with no network to check. You add a stand-alone Part D plan for drugs. Because your plan is leaving, Washington law (RCW 48.66.055) entitles you to certain Medigap plans with no health screening if you apply by March 4, 2027: Plans A through F (including high-deductible F), K or L if you were first eligible for Medicare before 2020, or A, B, D, G (including high-deductible G), K or L if you were first eligible on or after January 1, 2020. That right disappears if you take the Medicare Advantage road instead.
Under 65? Washington's guaranteed issue law has no age limit, but insurers only have to offer what they sell to new enrollees, and federal law doesn't make them sell Medigap to people under 65. OIC calls these options "more limited." Confirm with an insurer in writing before you give up Medicare Advantage.
The Washington guide goes deeper on each of these points.
Help inside Pasco
SHIBA. Franklin County's SHIBA sponsor, Catholic Charities Serving Central Washington, lists a Richland office. On October 26, OIC's directory said local offices weren't taking appointments and to call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227. The statewide SHIBA line, 800-562-6900, is open weekdays from 8:30 to 4:30; OIC says you can ask that line to connect you with local help.
Community Living Connections. Southeast Washington Aging and Long Term Care runs a Pasco office at 2715 St. Andrews Loop, Suite A (509-412-1013), for in-home services and benefit applications.
First Avenue Center. The city's First Avenue Center at 505 N. 1st Ave. (509-545-3459, weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) offers programs and support for older residents, and its services page points to Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels (509-735-1911).
Getting there. Ben Franklin Transit's fare rules let riders 65 and up use a Senior Pass on fixed-route and CONNECT service without paying a fare. For ADA-eligible riders, Dial-A-Ride reservations go through 509-735-0160.
Money. If premiums and copays are a strain, apply for a Medicare Savings Program at washingtonconnection.org. Approval brings Extra Help with drug costs automatically.
The dates in your own plan notices are the ones that count, and federal Medicare rules and Washington law define what you're owed; run anything you're unsure about past 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.
Pasco questions, answered
What is the last day to pick a plan so I have no gap in Pasco?
Does Ben Franklin Transit have a senior fare for getting to new doctors?
Is Lourdes Medical Center the only hospital in Franklin County?
Sources
- WA OFM April 1, 2026 population
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024, table B09020
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- CMS CY 2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- WA OIC: Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving
- WA OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
- RCW 48.66.055
- HCA: PEBB retiree open enrollment
- City of Pasco: First Avenue Center
- Ben Franklin Transit: Fares
- Ben Franklin Transit: Dial-A-Ride
- WA DOH hospital data
