Medicare Advantage plan terminated in Jefferson County: local help and your options

No county in Washington is older than Jefferson. OFM's 2025 estimates put 14,958 residents at 65 or older, 44.2% of the county, the highest share of all 39 counties. Yet Medicare Advantage is unusually rare here. Of the 15,190 Jefferson County residents on Medicare in July 2026, only 2,700 (17.8%) were in Medicare Advantage and other health plans, by CMS's count. Just two counties, Klickitat and Garfield, had a smaller share. So if your plan wrote to say it is terminating or leaving the county, you are in a fairly small group; most Medicare enrollees in the county already use Original Medicare.

Walk-in Medicare help left on the fall calendar

Jefferson County's SHIBA sponsor, Aging & Adult Services of Coastal Washington (formerly the Olympic Area Agency on Aging), published a fall schedule of free walk-in clinics with SHIBA volunteers. These are the Jefferson County dates still ahead as of October 26, 2026:

Source: Aging & Adult Services of Coastal Washington, 2026 Medicare open enrollment counseling flyer (Clallam-Jefferson). Clinics are first-come, first-served.

Bring your prescription bottles or a list with doses, your Medicare card, the plan's letter, and your Medicare.gov login if you have one. The sponsor warns that volunteers have limited capacity and suggests calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) if you can't wait. One more thing you should know: OIC's directory listing for this office, checked October 26, still said "Currently not accepting appointments." Walk-in clinics aren't appointments, but call the sponsor at 360-209-8338 or email [email protected] to confirm a date before driving from Brinnon. The statewide SHIBA line is 800-562-6900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Most Medicare enrollees here already use Original Medicare

Source: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026. Counts are people, not plans; the Medicare Advantage column includes cost plans and PACE.

Why might Original Medicare be so common here? I can't tell you each person's reasons, but the geography offers a clue. The county runs shore to shore across the Olympic Peninsula, taking in the highest Olympic peaks and parts of the Olympic rain forests, and the state lists exactly one hospital in all 1,804 square miles: Jefferson Healthcare, a critical access hospital in Port Townsend. If your specialists are in Poulsbo, Sequim, Port Angeles or Seattle, that matters: Original Medicare lets you see any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, with no network, which suits people whose care crosses county lines. The trade-off is that Original Medicare on its own has no annual cap on out-of-pocket costs, which is why people pair it with a Part D plan and often a Medigap policy. Medicare Advantage plans do carry a yearly limit, and some people prefer that. Neither choice is wrong; they fit different households.

If you switch: the Medigap window and the paper trail

Washington's RCW 48.66.055 gives anyone whose Medicare Advantage plan ends or leaves their area a guaranteed right to buy certain Medigap policies, with no health questions and no extra charge for pre-existing conditions. The right starts when you receive the termination notice and runs until 63 days after the plan ends: March 4, 2027. OIC advises sending the application on November 1 or later, and an application made in November or December lets the policy start January 1.

The insurer can ask for proof. Medicare's Medigap guide says to keep the letter with your name on it and the postmarked envelope it came in. Put both somewhere you will still find them in February.

The right exists only if you move to Original Medicare. If you choose another Medicare Advantage plan instead, the window passes unused.

The dates that apply to everyone

Your plan keeps paying through December 31, 2026, and anything you pick by then begins January 1, 2027. A special enrollment period for people whose plans are ending runs December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027; January choices start February 1 and February choices start March 1. Pick nothing and Medicare enrolls you in Original Medicare on January 1, with no drug plan unless you get Extra Help. The late-enrollment penalty and the rest of the detail are in our Washington guide.

Getting to a new doctor

Every Jefferson Transit route is zero-fare. Routes reach Brinnon, the Tri-Area, Poulsbo, Sequim and the Kingston ferry, and the Olympic Connection serves Forks and Amanda Park on the west end. Jefferson Transit also runs Dial-A-Ride, an ADA paratransit service for county residents whose disability or health condition keeps them off the regular bus. Customer service: 360-385-4777 or toll-free 800-371-0497.

Money help and other contacts

Jefferson County had 1,403 dual-eligible Medicare enrollees in July 2026, and slightly more of them were partial duals (728) than full duals (675). Partial duals usually get help through a Medicare Savings Program, which the state Health Care Authority says has no asset test; apply at washingtonconnection.org. Anyone in a Savings Program qualifies for Extra Help with drug costs automatically. For in-home care and Apple Health questions, the regional Area Agency on Aging is at 360-385-2552 or 1-800-801-0050, and Community Living Connections is 1-855-567-0252 statewide. If you live in Port Townsend, our Port Townsend page has city detail.

Federal Medicare rules and Washington law sit behind everything on this page, and the dates in your own termination letter are the ones that bind you; before switching, confirm your case with 1-800-MEDICARE, a SHIBA volunteer or a licensed agent.

Related pages: Washington statewide guide · Port Townsend

Jefferson County questions

Sources

1. Aging & Adult Services of Coastal Washington: SHIBA
2. AASCW 2026 open enrollment clinic flyer (Clallam-Jefferson)
3. CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
4. WA OFM population estimates by age, 2025
5. Washington OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
6. Washington OIC: Find a local SHIBA office (checked Oct 26, 2026)
7. Medicare.gov: Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026)
8. RCW 48.66.055
9. Jefferson Transit: Routes and schedules
10. CMS Hospital General Information
11. HCA: Medicare Savings Programs