Sixty-six days. That's how long you have, counting from today (October 26) through December 31, 2026, to replace a Medicare Advantage plan that's leaving and keep your coverage unbroken on January 1. Sammamish residents have the same federal windows as everyone else in Washington, but how you use those weeks is up to you. Here's a calendar built around the decision.
Your calendar, from now to spring
| When | What you can do | If you act then, coverage starts |
|---|---|---|
| Now through Dec 7 | Open Enrollment: switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or to Original Medicare plus a drug plan | January 1, 2027 |
| From Nov 1 | OIC's suggested start for applying to a Medigap policy under your guaranteed issue right | January 1, if your old plan ends December 31 |
| Dec 8 through Dec 31 | Your plan-ending special enrollment period is open | January 1, 2027 |
| January 2027 | Special enrollment period continues | February 1 |
| February 2027 (ends Feb 28) | Last month of the special enrollment period | March 1 |
| Through March 4, 2027 | Last day to use the Medigap guaranteed issue right | Not before your old plan's coverage ends (state law) |
Sources: CMS CY2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance (sections 30.3 and 30.6.10); OIC; RCW 48.66.055.
Notice the right-hand column. Only the first three rows give you a January 1 start. Anything after December 31 means at least a month, maybe two, when your old plan is gone and the new one hasn't begun. If you go that route you'd be in Original Medicare for those weeks with Parts A and B, but no drug plan unless you get Extra Help (CMS reassigns those members to a stand-alone plan).
One window that doesn't work the way people expect
You'll hear about the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31. It's only for people who are in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1. If you let your plan lapse and default to Original Medicare, that window isn't yours; your route back into Medicare Advantage is the plan-ending special enrollment period, which closes February 28. If you join a new Medicare Advantage plan that starts January 1, on the other hand, the January–March window does give you one more change if the plan turns out badly.
Sammamish by the numbers
- 68,500 people (OFM, April 1, 2026), spread over 20.4 square miles of the plateau.
- About 6,000 residents 65 and older, or 9.1% (ACS 2020–2024, ±469). Among King County cities above 10,000 people, only Snoqualmie has a smaller share.
- No hospital with a Sammamish address in the DOH or CMS lists.
- King County as a whole: 368,813 people on Medicare in July 2026, 53.6% of them in Medicare Advantage and other health plans (CMS). Medicare enrollment isn't published by 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.
What I take from this: Sammamish skews young, so a good number of the people getting these letters are in their first few years of Medicare. And because every hospital you'd use is off the plateau, in Issaquah, Redmond, Bellevue or beyond, the network check for any Medicare Advantage replacement has to cover hospitals in other cities, not just your doctor's office.
The two roads, briefly
Another Medicare Advantage plan. Check every doctor and the hospital you'd use in the plan's 2027 directory, and run your prescriptions through Plan Finder.
Original Medicare. Any provider that takes Medicare, no network. Add a stand-alone Part D plan. If you want a Medigap policy, Washington's guaranteed issue law means an insurer can't decline you or charge more for health reasons while the window is open, but only if you go this way rather than into another Medicare Advantage plan. If you first qualified for Medicare in 2020 or later, your guaranteed choices are Plans A, B, D and G (G also as high-deductible), K and L.
The statewide guide lays out both roads in more depth.
Local and statewide help
The City of Sammamish's senior resources page lists a senior program at Beaver Lake Lodge on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at no cost, plus a city Senior Human Services Coordinator and King County 2-1-1 for finding services. Those are good for local connections.
For the Medicare choice itself: SHIBA, the state's free and unbiased counseling program, answers at 800-562-6900 on weekdays from 8:30 to 4:30. As of October 26, 2026, OIC's listings for King County's local SHIBA sponsors said they weren't taking appointments and referred people to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), open 24/7 except some federal holidays. Community Living Connections, the county's aging and disability information line, is at 206-962-8467.
Everything here rests on federal Medicare rules and Washington law as of October 26, 2026; the dates printed in your plan's notice are what apply to you, so verify them with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.
Sammamish timing questions
Can I use the January to March Open Enrollment if my Sammamish plan ends?
If I enroll on January 15, when does coverage start?
Does Sammamish have a senior center?
Sources
- CMS CY2027 enrollment and disenrollment guidance
- OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
- RCW 48.66.055
- WA OFM April 1, 2026 population
- Census ACS 2020–2024, table B09020
- Census 2025 Gazetteer
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- CMS Hospital General Information
- City of Sammamish: Senior Resources
- OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
