Medicare Plan Discontinued in Auburn: Check Your County First

Auburn is one of a handful of Washington cities that sits in two counties. OFM's April 2026 estimate puts 80,290 Auburn residents in King County and 10,060 in Pierce County. That split sounds like trivia until your Medicare Advantage plan sends a letter saying it is leaving, because Medicare plans are sold by county. Your neighbor across the county line may be looking at a different set of 2027 choices than you are.

First question: which county is your address in?

Check your property tax statement or voter registration if you aren't sure. Then, when you open Medicare Plan Finder or call 1-800-MEDICARE, give your full ZIP code and confirm the county it asks for. Picking the wrong county can show you plans you can't actually join.

The two counties look a little different on paper:

Source: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026. CMS does not publish city-level counts. "Other health plans" includes cost plans and PACE.

In both counties, slightly more than half of people with Medicare are in Medicare Advantage and other health plans, the type of coverage that can leave an area. Comparing notes is fine, but compare options only with people in your own county.

Auburn's older residents

The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey estimates 10,676 Auburn residents age 65 or older, with a margin of error of 873, which works out to roughly 12.5% of the city. That is younger than King County as a whole, where the same survey puts about 14.0% of residents at 65 or older. If you joined your first Medicare Advantage plan within the last 12 months, when you first got Part A at 65, ask about your Medigap trial right. It can widen your choices.

Auburn has its own hospital on the DOH and CMS lists: MultiCare Auburn Medical Center on North Division Street. If you plan to move into another Medicare Advantage plan, confirm that hospital and your doctors are in the 2027 network before you sign anything. Original Medicare is accepted at any hospital that takes Medicare.

What the letter sets in motion

The rules come from CMS, not from the city or either county. Here is how they play out:

1. You stay covered through December 31, 2026. Keep seeing your doctors and filling prescriptions as usual.
2. You can switch now. Open Enrollment runs to December 7. After that, a special enrollment period for people whose plan is ending runs December 8 through February 28, 2027.
3. December 31 is the date that avoids a gap. Anything you pick by then starts January 1. Pick in January and it starts February 1; pick in February and it starts March 1.
4. Doing nothing puts you in Original Medicare on January 1, without a drug plan. People with Extra Help are the exception: CMS moves them into a stand-alone drug plan. Everyone else needs to join one, and a stretch of 63 days or more without drug coverage can bring a late penalty that is added for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

If you head to Original Medicare, Washington's guaranteed issue law lets you buy certain Medigap policies without health questions. OIC tells people to apply no earlier than November 1, and the window closes March 4, 2027. That right does not carry over if you choose another Medicare Advantage plan instead. The statewide Washington plan-discontinued guide lays out which Medigap plans qualify and how the timing fits together.

Help on both sides of the county line

Source: WA OIC SHIBA office finder and DSHS Area Agency on Aging contact list, retrieved October 2026.

One honest warning. When I looked on October 26, 2026, every one of those local SHIBA listings said "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." So start with the statewide SHIBA line at 800-562-6900 (weekdays, 8:30 to 4:30) and ask them to route you, or call 1-800-MEDICARE, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays.

Closer to home, the city runs the Auburn Senior Activity Center at 808 Ninth Street SE (253-931-3016), open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It serves a weekday lunch and is a reasonable place to ask about local programs, though it is not a Medicare enrollment office.

Money tight? The Medicare Savings Programs through the Health Care Authority help with premiums and have no asset test. Qualifying for one also qualifies you for Extra Help with drugs. Apply online at washingtonconnection.org.

An Auburn to-do list

• Confirm your county, then your ZIP, before comparing anything.
• Write down your doctors, including anyone you see at MultiCare Auburn, and every prescription with its dose.
• Decide between another Medicare Advantage plan and Original Medicare with a drug plan (and optionally Medigap).
• Get it done before December 31 so January 1 has no surprise.
• Keep the plan's letter and its postmarked envelope.

Last thing: this is a summary, not legal advice. Federal Medicare rules and Washington law govern, and the dates in your own plan's notices are the ones that count for you, so confirm with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before you make a change.

Related pages: Washington statewide guide · King County · Bellevue · Bothell · Burien · Covington · Des Moines · Enumclaw · Federal Way · Issaquah · Kenmore · Kent · Kirkland · Lake Forest Park · Maple Valley · Mercer Island · Newcastle · Redmond · Renton · Sammamish · SeaTac · Seattle · Shoreline · Snoqualmie · Tukwila · Woodinville

Auburn readers ask

Sources

1. WA OFM April 1, 2026 population (city and county parts)
2. U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, table B09020
3. CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
4. WA OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
5. WA OIC: Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving
6. DSHS Area Agency on Aging contact list
7. City of Auburn: Senior Activity Center
8. CMS CY2027 enrollment guidance
9. RCW 48.66.055
10. WA HCA: Medicare Savings Program