Medicare Plan Discontinued in Centralia, WA: Key Dates

Three dates run this whole decision for a Centralia resident whose Medicare Advantage plan is going away: December 31, 2026, February 28, 2027 and March 4, 2027. The first is the plan's last day and your no-gap deadline. The second closes your special enrollment period. The third ends your right to buy a Medigap policy without health questions. Everything else hangs off those three.

Your calendar, month by month

If you act during...	New coverage starts	Notes for Centralia residents
Now through Dec 7, 2026	Jan 1, 2027	Medicare Open Enrollment. Any plan change you make lands on New Year's Day.
Nov 1 onward	When your old plan ends	OIC's suggested start for Medigap applications if you're heading to Original Medicare.
Dec 8 – Dec 31, 2026	Jan 1, 2027	Your plan-ending special enrollment period opens. Still no gap.
January 2027	Feb 1, 2027	A month of January with no plan of your choosing, and no drug plan if you were defaulted.
February 2027	Mar 1, 2027	Last month of the special period. Two months without drug coverage is 59 days, just under the 63-day penalty line, but it's two months of full pharmacy prices.
By Mar 4, 2027	n/a	Medigap guaranteed issue right ends (63 days after December 31).

Sources: CMS CY 2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance (section 30.6.10); Washington OIC; RCW 48.66.055; Medicare.gov Part D costs.

If you don't choose anything, Medicare enrolls you in Original Medicare on January 1. You keep Part A and Part B. You don't automatically get a drug plan unless you receive Extra Help, in which case CMS assigns one. And the January-through-March Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period won't help you in that case, because it's only for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan. The Washington statewide guide covers the reasoning behind each of these dates.

Centralia in numbers

OFM puts Centralia at 19,130 residents as of April 1, 2026, a little over a fifth of Lewis County. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey estimates about 3,900 residents 65 and older (margin of error ±381), roughly 20.7% of the city, close to the county's 21.4% on the same survey.

The county numbers are what tell you how common your situation is. In July 2026, CMS counted 23,261 Lewis County residents on Medicare, and 13,188 of them (56.7%) were in Medicare Advantage or other health plans, well above the statewide 49.7%.

Extra Help, and why Centralia's Social Security office matters

Lewis County has 3,909 people with both Medicare and Apple Health. If drug prices are part of your worry, Extra Help is the program to look at. It lowers Part D costs, it waives the Part D late enrollment penalty, and if you have it, CMS places you in a drug plan when your Medicare Advantage plan ends. You qualify automatically if you're on Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program or SSI. Otherwise, you apply through Social Security.

Centralia has a Social Security field office at 1821 Cooks Hill Rd, Suite 100. Social Security's office list shows its phone as 855-848-7942 and hours as Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call before you go; hours and walk-in rules change.

Two more programs work alongside Extra Help:

Medicare Savings Programs, run by the state's Health Care Authority, help pay Medicare premiums and, at the lowest income level, deductibles and copays. There's no asset test. Apply at washingtonconnection.org.
If you have Medicaid or Extra Help, you can also change stand-alone drug plans once each calendar month, so a first pick that doesn't work out isn't permanent.

The hospital, the bus, and new doctors

The Department of Health lists an acute care hospital in Centralia on Scheuber Road, one of two hospitals in Lewis County (the other is Arbor Health Hospital in Morton). Before choosing another Medicare Advantage plan, confirm that hospital, your primary care office and any specialists in Chehalis, Olympia or Longview will be in that plan's network for 2027. Original Medicare takes network questions off the table: any provider that accepts Medicare.

Getting there doesn't have to cost anything. Lewis County Transit's fixed routes are fare-free until further notice, and a city route (Orange) stops at the hospital's west entrance on Scheuber Road, and city routes run between Centralia and Chehalis. The Green route continues to Olympia. If a disability keeps you off the regular bus, LIFTT is free door-to-door service within three-quarters of a mile of a fixed route, after an approved application (dispatch 360-330-5555).

Talking it through for free

SHIBA, the state's free and unbiased Medicare counseling program, is sponsored in Lewis County by Timber River Connections in neighboring Chehalis. When I checked on October 26, 2026, OIC's local SHIBA listings were marked as not accepting appointments and directed people to Medicare. SHIBA's statewide line, 800-562-6900, still answers weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Medicare takes calls at 1-800-633-4227 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays.

For other services for older adults, the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging's Community Living Connections office is at 1651 S. Market Blvd. in Chehalis, 360-748-2288.

The dates in your plan's notices are the ones that apply to you, and federal Medicare rules plus Washington law sit above anything written here, so confirm your own case with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.

Centralia residents also ask

Where is the Social Security office in Centralia?

Social Security's office list shows a field office at 1821 Cooks Hill Rd, Suite 100, Centralia, phone 855-848-7942, open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call ahead before visiting. You can apply for Extra Help through Social Security.

If I miss December 31, is it too late?

No. Your plan-ending special enrollment period lasts through February 28, 2027. A January choice starts February 1 and a February choice starts March 1, but you'll be without your chosen coverage until then.

Can I buy a Medigap policy without health questions if I move to Original Medicare?

Yes. Washington's guaranteed issue law covers people whose Medicare Advantage plan leaves their area. OIC suggests applying on or after November 1, and the right ends March 4, 2027.

Is the bus to the hospital in Centralia free?

Lewis County Transit fixed routes are fare-free until further notice, and the Orange city route stops at the hospital's west entrance on Scheuber Road. LIFTT paratransit is also free for approved riders.

Medicare plan discontinued in Centralia: the dates that matter