Newcastle's city website points older homeowners to King County's property tax relief programs for seniors. If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving and money is tight, the money side of the decision deserves as much attention as the doctor side. This page takes the cost questions first.
What changes in your costs when the plan leaves
Your plan keeps paying through December 31, 2026. What you pay after that depends on which road you take:
| Cost item | Road A: new Medicare Advantage plan | Road B: Original Medicare, drug plan, Medigap if wanted |
|---|---|---|
| Part B premium | You keep paying it | You keep paying it |
| Drug coverage | Usually built in; check the plan's drug list | Separate Part D premium; 2027 deductible can't exceed $700 |
| Doctor and hospital bills | Plan copays, with a yearly out-of-pocket limit | Usually 20% coinsurance after the Part B deductible, no yearly limit unless you add Medigap |
| Medigap premium | Not allowed with Medicare Advantage | Optional; covers some or all of the gaps |
| Yearly drug cost ceiling (2027) | $2,400 on covered Part D drugs | $2,400 on covered Part D drugs |
Sources: Medicare & You 2027 comparison chart; Medicare.gov cost pages; CMS CY2027 Rate Announcement. Plan premiums vary and aren't shown here.
The honest summary: Medicare Advantage puts a cap on your exposure but may limit you to a network. Original Medicare opens every door that accepts Medicare, but without a supplement there's no ceiling on the 20%. Neither is cheaper for everyone. What you take, what doctors you see and how much financial risk you can stomach decide it.
Programs that lower the bill
If your income is limited, check these before you pick a plan, because they change the math:
- Medicare Savings Programs. An Apple Health benefit administered by the state's HCA. The levels are QMB (helps with Part A and B premiums, deductibles and copays, not prescriptions), SLMB and QI-1 (help with the Part B premium), and QDWI (Part A premium). Savings and other assets aren't counted, according to HCA. Apply online through washingtonconnection.org, or use the paper form.
- Extra Help. Medicare's drug-cost subsidy. Anyone already on Medicaid, SSI or one of the Savings Programs above is in automatically; everyone else files with Social Security. Extra Help members don't pay the Part D late penalty, and if their Medicare Advantage plan is ending, CMS assigns them a stand-alone drug plan.
King County had 58,692 people on both Medicare and Apple Health in July 2026, about 16% of all Medicare enrollees in the county. Applying is routine, not a last resort.
The cost of waiting
Your plan's exit opens a special window that lasts from December 8 to February 28, 2027. Use it in January and the new coverage begins February 1; use it in February and you wait until March 1. Skip the decision altogether and January 1 lands you in Original Medicare minus any drug plan, Extra Help members aside. Each month in that state you'd pay pharmacy prices in full. And a gap of 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage triggers a late penalty of 1% of the national base premium ($41.33 for 2027) per uncovered month, and it rides on your premium every year you keep Part D. Settle it by December 31.
Medigap without a health exam
If you go with Original Medicare, Washington's RCW 48.66.055 gives you a guaranteed issue right to certain Medigap plans because your plan is ending. An insurer can't refuse you or raise your price over health conditions. OIC's guidance is to send the application on or after November 1; the right lapses March 4, 2027, and enrolling in a different Medicare Advantage plan forfeits it. For plan letters by eligibility date, see the statewide guide. OIC posts a list of Medigap plans approved in Washington; questions about it go to OIC's Insurance Consumer Hotline at 1-800-562-6900.
Newcastle facts that matter here
- Population: 13,940 (OFM, April 1, 2026), on about 4.4 square miles.
- Age 65+: roughly 2,000 residents, or 15.8% (ACS 2020–2024, ±360), a bit above King County's 14.0%.
- Hospitals: none with a Newcastle address in the DOH and CMS lists. UW Medicine/Valley Medical Center in neighboring Renton is one nearby option to check by name in any network.
- King County Medicare enrollment, July 2026: 368,813 people, 53.6% in Medicare Advantage and other health plans (CMS reports by county, not city).
Sources: WA OFM; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 and 2025 Gazetteer; WA DOH and CMS hospital files; CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026.
Who to call
SHIBA gives free, unbiased Medicare counseling, including help applying for Extra Help. Its statewide number, 800-562-6900, is staffed weekdays from 8:30 until 4:30. The catch this fall: OIC's local-office page for King County read "Currently not accepting appointments" on October 26, 2026, and steered callers to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays. For broader aging services in King County, Community Living Connections is at 206-962-8467.
Washington statute and federal Medicare law supply the cost rules on this page, but the notice your plan mailed fixes your personal deadlines, so check with SHIBA, Medicare's helpline or a licensed agent before committing.
Newcastle cost questions
Is Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare cheaper in Newcastle?
Do Medicare Savings Programs have an asset test in Washington?
Does Newcastle have its own hospital?
Sources
- City of Newcastle: Resident resources
- Medicare & You 2027
- Medicare.gov: Medicare costs
- Medicare.gov: Part D costs, Extra Help and late penalty
- CMS CY2027 Rate Announcement
- CMS Parts C & D announcement, July 28, 2026
- HCA: Medicare Savings Program
- CMS CY2027 enrollment and disenrollment guidance
- RCW 48.66.055
- OIC: Approved Medicare Supplement plans list
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- WA OFM April 1, 2026 population
- Census ACS 2020–2024, table B09020
- CMS Hospital General Information
