Medicare Advantage Plan Terminated in Klickitat County

Klickitat County has the lowest share of Medicare enrollees in Medicare Advantage and other health plans in Washington. In July 2026, CMS counted 856 of the county's 7,175 Medicare enrollees in Medicare Advantage and other health plans: 11.9%, against 49.7% statewide. The other 6,319 people, 88.1%, were on Original Medicare. If your plan just told you it's terminating or pulling out of Klickitat County for 2027, you belong to a small group, and the setup most of your neighbors in Goldendale, White Salmon, Bingen and Dallesport use is the one you will be offered by default.

A county with doctors on both banks of the river

Klickitat runs along 84 miles of the Columbia River Gorge, from the forested Cascade slopes in the west to the sun-baked hills toward central Washington. Across the water are five Oregon counties: Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Morrow. The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge, nearly a mile long and first built in 1924, connects White Salmon and Bingen with Hood River.

The state's hospital data lists two hospitals in the county, both critical access hospitals at opposite ends: Klickitat Valley Health in Goldendale, the county seat, and Skyline Hospital in White Salmon. Depending on where you live, your primary care doctor, your cardiologist or your pharmacy may be in Oregon.

That is the single most important thing to check before you pick a 2027 replacement. A Medicare Advantage plan usually works through a network, and for non-emergency care you may need to stay in it. Ask each plan you consider, by name, whether your Oregon doctors and your Washington doctors are in its 2027 network. Original Medicare works differently: any doctor or hospital in the U.S. that accepts Medicare can be used, Oregon included, without a network or, in most cases, a referral. On the other hand, Original Medicare alone has no yearly cap on what you pay, which is why people who choose it often add a Part D drug plan and often a Medigap policy. Medicare Advantage plans include a yearly out-of-pocket limit. Weigh both honestly.

Klickitat's Medicare numbers

Klickitat County	Count	Note
Residents, April 1, 2026 (OFM)	23,700
Residents 65+ (OFM, 2025)	6,563	27.8% of the 2025 population
On Medicare, July 2026	7,175	includes 549 people under Medicare because of a disability
Original Medicare	6,319	88.1%
Medicare Advantage and other health plans	856	11.9%, lowest of 39 WA counties
Stand-alone Part D plans	4,460	85.5% of Part D enrollees
Drug coverage inside Medicare Advantage	757	14.5% of Part D enrollees
Both Medicare and Apple Health	999	13.9%; 508 full, 491 partial

Sources: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026 (people, not plans; Medicare Advantage count includes cost plans and PACE); WA OFM.

Read the drug rows closely. Of the 856 people in Medicare Advantage and other plans, 757 got their drug coverage through the plan, close to nine in ten. For them, the plan ending also ends their prescription coverage on December 31.

If you have Apple Health or Extra Help

Nearly one in seven Klickitat Medicare enrollees also has Apple Health. If that includes you, a few rules work in your favor:

Automatic drug coverage. CMS reassigns people with Extra Help from an ending Medicare Advantage plan to a stand-alone Part D plan, unless they already have Part D lined up for next year. You can still choose a different plan yourself.
Monthly changes. With Medicaid or Extra Help, you can switch stand-alone drug plans once a calendar month, effective the first of the next month.
Integrated plans. If you have full Apple Health benefits, you can join or switch to an integrated plan for dual-eligible people once a month, if one is offered where you live. The state Health Care Authority calls these Apple Health Medicare Connect.
No late penalty. Extra Help members don't owe the Part D late enrollment penalty.

Not on Apple Health but struggling with premiums? Look at a Medicare Savings Program. HCA says there's no asset test, and you can apply at washingtonconnection.org.

The deadlines, in brief

The plan covers you through December 31, 2026. Choose by that date and your new coverage begins January 1, 2027. Because your plan is the one leaving, you also get a special enrollment period from December 8 to February 28, 2027, but choices made in January take effect February 1 and choices made in February take effect March 1. If you choose nothing, you're placed in Original Medicare on January 1 without a drug plan (Extra Help members excepted). Go 63 days or more without drug coverage and a late penalty can be added to your Part D premium for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

If you move to Original Medicare, Washington's RCW 48.66.055 lets you buy certain Medigap policies with no health questions until March 4, 2027. OIC says apply on or after November 1. That right doesn't carry over if you pick another Medicare Advantage plan. The Washington statewide guide has the plan-by-plan Medigap list.

Help in Klickitat County

SHIBA. The county's SHIBA sponsor is the Area Agency on Aging & Disabilities of Southwest Washington, based in Vancouver. OIC's directory, checked October 26, 2026, said the office was "Currently not accepting appointments" and pointed callers to 1-800-633-4227. The agency's own Medicare page says you can reach its SHIBA team at 360-759-4676 or [email protected]; include your name, county and contact information, and a local volunteer follows up within two business days. With a December 31 deadline, don't wait until mid-December to make that call. The statewide SHIBA line is 800-562-6900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Klickitat County Senior Services. Two offices, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Goldendale, 115 W. Court St., Suite 101 (509-773-3757), and White Salmon, 501 NE Washington St. (509-493-3068). Toll-free: 1-800-447-7858. They also run the Mount Adams Transportation Service, which offers rides to medical appointments for county residents who lack transportation. If you live in or west of Dallesport or the town of Klickitat, call the White Salmon office; east of there, call Goldendale.

Tribal members. DSHS also lists a Yakama Nation Area Agency on Aging in Toppenish.

Medicare. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048) is open 24 hours a day, except some federal holidays.

The final word belongs to your own plan notice, federal Medicare law and Washington statute; talk your choice over with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before you sign anything.

Klickitat County questions

My doctors are in Hood River or The Dalles. Does that matter when my plan ends?

Yes. If you choose another Medicare Advantage plan, ask whether your Oregon providers are in its 2027 network. Original Medicare can be used with any provider in the U.S. that accepts Medicare, including in Oregon.

How rare is Medicare Advantage in Klickitat County?

CMS counted 856 of 7,175 Klickitat County Medicare enrollees (11.9%) in Medicare Advantage and other health plans in July 2026, the lowest share of Washington's 39 counties.

Who is the SHIBA office for Klickitat County?

The Area Agency on Aging & Disabilities of Southwest Washington in Vancouver. Its SHIBA team line is 360-759-4676, and a volunteer follows up within two business days. OIC's directory listed the office as not taking appointments on October 26, 2026; the statewide line is 800-562-6900.

Can I get a ride to a new doctor in Klickitat County?

Klickitat County Senior Services runs the Mount Adams Transportation Service, which includes rides to medical appointments for residents without transportation. Call the White Salmon office (509-493-3068) if you live in or west of Dallesport or Klickitat, and Goldendale (509-773-3757) if you live east of there.

Medicare Advantage plan terminated in Klickitat County: what to check before December 31