Covington is a small city, about 5.9 square miles and 22,200 people by OFM's April 2026 count, and a young one. The Census Bureau estimates roughly 2,600 residents are 65 or older, around 12% of town. So if a Medicare Advantage plan you joined fairly recently just announced it won't be offered in 2027, you may be dealing with the Medicare rule book for the first time. Here is how the next five months line up.
Your calendar from here to March
| When | What you can do | Coverage starts |
|---|---|---|
| Now to December 7, 2026 | Change anything during Medicare Open Enrollment | January 1, 2027 |
| From November 1, 2026 | Apply for a Medigap policy under your guaranteed issue right (OIC's earliest suggested date) | When the old plan ends |
| December 8 to 31, 2026 | Use your special enrollment period | January 1, 2027 |
| December 31, 2026 | Old plan's last day of coverage | |
| January 2027 | Special enrollment period continues | February 1, 2027 |
| February 2027 | Last month of the special enrollment period (ends Feb 28) | March 1, 2027 |
| March 4, 2027 | Medigap guaranteed issue right expires |
Source: CMS CY2027 enrollment guidance; WA OIC; RCW 48.66.055. Dates assume your plan ends December 31, 2026; check your own letter.
Read the right-hand column carefully. Every row before January points to a January 1 start. Every row after it pushes your start date back a month and leaves you a month or two without the coverage you chose. That is why I'd treat December 31 as the deadline, even though the government's window technically runs into February.
What January 1 looks like if you skip all of it
You will not be uninsured. Medicare moves you to Original Medicare, Parts A and B, on New Year's Day. What goes missing is whatever your old plan bundled in. The big one is prescription coverage: Original Medicare doesn't include it, and nobody signs you up for a drug plan unless you get Extra Help (CMS reassigns those members on its own). Go 63 days or more without drug coverage and you can face a Part D late penalty that lasts as long as you have Part D.
Also worth knowing: the January–March Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period is only for people who are already in a Medicare Advantage plan. If you land in Original Medicare by default, your last chance to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan under these rules is February 28.
If this was your first Medicare Advantage plan
If this fits you: you turned 65, joined Medicare Advantage when you first got Part A, and now, within your first 12 months, the plan is leaving. Medicare calls the extra protection a trial right. It can let you buy any Medigap policy sold in Washington without health questions, which is broader than the regular guaranteed issue list. Ask SHIBA whether you qualify before you choose.
Even without a trial right, Washington law gives everyone whose plan is leaving a guaranteed right to buy certain Medigap policies if they go to Original Medicare. You give that up if you pick another Medicare Advantage plan instead. Details are in our Washington guide.
Your local hospital and getting to appointments
MultiCare Covington Medical Center, on SE 272nd St, is on both the state DOH and CMS hospital lists. If you are shopping for another Medicare Advantage plan, look it up by name in each 2027 network, along with your primary doctor and any specialists. With Original Medicare, any provider that accepts Medicare will work, in Covington or anywhere else in the country.
If a network change pushes you to a doctor outside town, two King County Metro programs help. The Regional Reduced Fare Permit cuts Metro fares to $1 a trip for anyone 65 or older or holding a Medicare card; the first card costs nothing. Metro's Access paratransit serves people whose disability keeps them off regular buses, but only within three-quarters of a mile of a regular bus or Link route, which is worth checking from a suburban address. Metro Customer Information is (206) 553-3000.
The county numbers behind your letter
CMS counts, July 2026: King County had 368,813 people on Medicare, and 197,594 of them (53.6%) were in Medicare Advantage and other health plans. Another 171,219 were in Original Medicare. CMS doesn't break those numbers out for cities like Covington, and it publishes no count of who got non-renewal letters. The county split is background on how common private plans are here, nothing more.
Who to call
- SHIBA, the state's free and unbiased Medicare counseling: 800-562-6900, Monday to Friday 8:30–4:30. OIC's listings for the local King County sponsors (Solid Ground and the Chinese Information and Service Center) said on October 26, 2026 that they were not accepting appointments, so use the statewide number.
- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays, for Plan Finder help or enrollment.
- City of Covington, 16720 SE 271st St, Suite 100, weekdays 8 to 5. King County's services directory notes the city offers referrals to human services.
- Community Living Connections, King County: 1-844-348-5464.
This is general guidance only. Federal Medicare law and Washington statutes set the rules, the notices from your own plan set your dates, and you should confirm anything you're unsure about with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.
Covington 2027 questions
What Medicare Advantage changes in 2027 affect Covington residents whose plan is ending?
Can I wait until February to decide?
Is MultiCare Covington Medical Center in every plan?
I joined my first Medicare Advantage plan this year at 65. Does that change anything?
Sources
- CMS CY2027 MA and Part D Enrollment Guidance
- WA OIC: Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving
- RCW 48.66.055
- Medicare: Choosing a Medigap Policy (trial rights)
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- WA OFM April 1, 2026 population
- U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 B09020
- King County Metro: Regional Reduced Fare Permit
- King County Metro: Access Transportation
- King County directory: City of Covington
- WA OIC: local SHIBA offices
