Moses Lake is home to about one in four Grant County residents, 27,960 of the county's 107,500 as of April 2026, along with the county's only acute care hospital in CMS data. If a Medicare Advantage plan has told you it won't continue in 2027, you have roughly nine weeks until the date that matters most, December 31, 2026. Here's a week-by-week way to use them.
Your calendar from now to March
| When | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| This week (Oct 26) | Medicare open enrollment is underway; PEBB retiree open enrollment opens | Find the plan's letter and envelope. List doctors, prescriptions, pharmacy. |
| November 1 | OIC's earliest suggested date for Medigap applications | If you're heading to Original Medicare, apply for a supplement on or after this date. |
| November 23 | PEBB retiree open enrollment closes | PEBB retirees: make PEBB changes by now. |
| December 7 | Regular open enrollment ends | Not your deadline. Keep going. |
| December 8 | Your plan-ending special enrollment period opens | You can still join a plan or drug plan. |
| December 31 | Last day of your current plan | Have new coverage chosen so it starts January 1. |
| February 28, 2027 | Special enrollment period ends | Last chance to join a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan under this window. |
| March 4, 2027 | Medigap guaranteed issue ends | After this, insurers may use health questions. |
Sources: CMS CY2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance; WA OIC; HCA PEBB retiree open enrollment page; RCW 48.66.055.
Why December 7 isn't your deadline
You'll hear December 7 everywhere as the end of open enrollment. For most people it is. For you it isn't the end. Because your plan is the one leaving, CMS gives you a separate window from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027. Sign up between December 8 and 31 and the coverage still begins January 1.
That said, waiting into the new year has a cost. On January 1, anyone who hasn't chosen is placed in Original Medicare, which pays for hospital and doctor care but not prescriptions. Joining a plan in January means coverage starts February 1; in February, March 1. Those are weeks of paying full price for medicine. If you get Extra Help, CMS reassigns you to a stand-alone drug plan, which softens this, but check that it covers your drugs. The statewide guide covers the Part D penalty and the rest of the rules.
Moses Lake compared with Grant County
- Population, April 1, 2026 (OFM)
- Moses Lake 27,960; Grant County 107,500
- Share 65 and older (Census ACS 2020–2024)
- Moses Lake about 13.3% (about 3,500 people, give or take 465); county 14.6%
- People with Medicare, county (CMS, July 2026)
- 18,302
- County enrollees in Original Medicare
- 11,470 (62.7%)
- County enrollees in Medicare Advantage and other health plans
- 6,832 (37.3%)
Sources: WA OFM; U.S. Census Bureau ACS table B09020; CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026 (people, not plans).
Moses Lake is a little younger than the county overall, but the bigger point is the Medicare split. In Grant County, Original Medicare is the norm and private plans are the minority. That is background, not advice: the right choice depends on your doctors and drugs.
The hospital on Wheeler Road
The acute care hospital at 801 East Wheeler Road is the only hospital inside city limits in the state DOH and CMS data. The county's other three hospitals, in Ephrata, Quincy and Grand Coulee, are critical access hospitals.
If you're looking at another Medicare Advantage plan, ask whether the Moses Lake hospital, your primary care doctor and any specialists you see in Wenatchee or Spokane are in its 2027 network. With Original Medicare there's no network to check; any provider that accepts Medicare will do. If you go that way, Washington law (RCW 48.66.055) lets you buy certain Medigap plans without health questions until March 4, 2027.
Public employee retiree? Call PEBB first
If your Medicare coverage comes through the Public Employees Benefits Board, the usual Medicare steps may not apply the same way. OIC tells PEBB members to contact the Health Care Authority directly. PEBB's retiree open enrollment runs October 26 through November 23, 2026, with changes effective January 1, 2027. Call PEBB Benefits Services at 1-800-200-1004, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and ask whether you could return to PEBB later if you leave it now.
Getting to appointments
Grant Transit Authority buses have had no fares since September 2022, and its routes meet at the Multimodal Transit Center. If a disability keeps you off fixed routes, ask about GTA's ACCESS curb-to-curb service at 509-766-1688. People For People also leaves from Bay 3 at the transit center, with Route 100 heading to Ephrata, Quincy and Wenatchee and Route 102 to the Tri-Cities, also with no fare.
Help in Moses Lake and by phone
Aging & Adult Care of Central Washington, the Area Agency on Aging for Grant County, lists its Community Living Connections office at 1336 South Pioneer Way in Moses Lake (509-766-2568). For plan questions, SHIBA's statewide counselors are at 800-562-6900 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; OIC's listing for the Grant County SHIBA sponsor said on October 26, 2026 that it was "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." Medicare itself answers at 1-800-633-4227, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays, and Medicare Plan Finder lets you compare 2027 plans with your own drug list.
Your rights here come from federal Medicare rules and Washington law, and the dates on your own plan notices are the ones to follow; if you're unsure, confirm with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.
Moses Lake: common questions
Is December 7 my deadline in Moses Lake?
Is there a hospital in Moses Lake?
I get my Medicare coverage through PEBB. What should I do?
Where is the Community Living Connections office in Moses Lake?
Sources
- CMS CY2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- WA OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
- HCA: PEBB retiree open enrollment
- RCW 48.66.055
- WA OFM April 1, 2026 population
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, table B09020
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- CMS Hospital General Information
- Grant Transit Authority rider programs
