Lincoln County, counted
Nearly three in ten Lincoln County residents are 65 or older: 3,345 of them in OFM's 2025 estimate, in a county of 11,300 people spread over about 2,311 square miles of wheat ground, pine and basalt. CMS counted 3,779 people with Medicare here in July 2026. Only 744 of them were in Medicare Advantage and other health plans.
| CMS counts, July 2026 | Lincoln County | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone with Medicare | 3,779 | 1,586,306 |
| Original Medicare | 3,035 (80.3%) | 797,700 (50.3%) |
| Medicare Advantage and other health plans | 744 (19.7%) | 788,606 (49.7%) |
| Stand-alone Part D plan | 2,148 | 503,353 |
| Drug coverage inside a Medicare Advantage plan | 678 | 752,773 |
| Dual-eligible (Medicare and Apple Health) | 548 | 239,101 |
| Under 65, on Medicare due to disability | 343 | 127,500 |
Sources: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026; WA OFM April 1, 2026 population and 2025 age estimates; Census Gazetteer land area.
What it means to be one of the 744
Four out of five Medicare beneficiaries in Lincoln County already use Original Medicare. CMS also counted 2,148 people in the county on stand-alone Part D against 678 with drug coverage inside a Medicare Advantage plan. Those are county facts, not advice: a neighbor's experience with either setup doesn't tell you what it would cost you. Run your own numbers.
Neither choice is automatically right. Medicare Advantage plans have a yearly cap on covered medical costs and usually include drug coverage. Original Medicare lets you see any provider in the country who accepts Medicare, but has no yearly cap unless you add a Medigap policy. The rest of this page is mostly about that Medigap piece, because the plan-ending letter gives you a once-only opening for it.
The Medigap opening, and its timetable
Normally a Medigap insurer can ask about your health and decline you. Because your Medicare Advantage plan is ending, Washington's guaranteed issue law (RCW 48.66.055) suspends that for a while, as long as you move to Original Medicare. During the window the insurer has to sell you one of the covered plans, cover conditions you already have, and can't charge more for them.
| Date | Medigap step |
|---|---|
| When your plan's notice arrived | The legal window opened. |
| November 1, 2026 | OIC's recommended earliest date to send the application. |
| By December 31, 2026 | Apply by now for coverage that begins January 1, 2027, the day after the old plan ends. |
| January 1, 2027 | Earliest possible start; the policy can't begin while the Medicare Advantage plan is still in force. |
| March 4, 2027 | Window closes, 63 days after the plan ends. After this, health questions can come back. |
Sources: RCW 48.66.055; Washington OIC; Medicare, Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026).
Which letters are on the menu turns on when you were first eligible for Medicare. People first eligible before 2020 can choose anything from A through F (the high-deductible F counts too), plus K and L. Anyone first eligible on or after January 1, 2020 picks from A, B, D, G or high-deductible G, plus K and L. Insurers only have to offer the ones they sell to new customers. Send a copy of the plan letter with your application and keep the original with its postmarked envelope.
Sign up for a different private plan and this protection simply goes unspent; there's no banking it for a later year.
Your drug plan is a separate decision
A Medigap policy doesn't cover prescriptions. If you go back to Original Medicare you need a stand-alone Part D plan as well, and Medicare leaves that choice to you, unless you're on Extra Help, in which case CMS assigns a stand-alone plan. For 2027, federal rules cap any Part D deductible at $700 and stop your out-of-pocket costs for covered drugs at $2,400 for the year. Check which plans list your drugs and include the pharmacy you actually use in Davenport, Odessa, Wilbur or wherever you fill prescriptions.
Leaving drug coverage blank for 63 days or more in a row can add a Part D late enrollment penalty to your premium for as long as you have Part D. Extra Help members are exempt.
The rest of the calendar
Your plan covers you through December 31, 2026. Choose by then and the new coverage starts January 1. Miss it, and there's a backstop: people losing their plan get a special enrollment period that opens December 8, 2026 and closes at the end of February 2027, with January picks taking effect February 1 and February picks March 1. Choose nothing and January 1 finds you on Original Medicare with no drug plan attached, unless you get Extra Help. More detail, including the January to March Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment rules, is on our Washington statewide guide.
Two small hospitals, long drives between them
The state and CMS hospital lists show two critical access hospitals in the county: Lincoln Hospital in Davenport, the county seat, and Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center in Odessa. If you're considering another Medicare Advantage plan, confirm both the local hospital you'd use and any specialist outside the county are in its 2027 network. That matters more in a big rural county than in a city.
Help from Lincoln County
- SHIBA: the local sponsor listed for Lincoln County is Rural Resources Community Action, based in Colville (509-684-8421). Its OIC listing on October 26, 2026 read "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." SHIBA's statewide number, 800-562-6900, answered Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. per OIC's SHIBA page.
- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048) is staffed day and night, except some federal holidays. Plan Finder lets you compare drug plans with your prescription list.
- Aging & Adult Care of Central Washington is the Area Agency on Aging. Its Community Living Connections office for Lincoln County is in Moses Lake (509-766-2568, toll-free 800-572-4459).
- Wilbur Senior Center, 101 NE Main Avenue (509-647-5503), open Tuesday through Friday. The Town of Wilbur says People for People buses serve the center, and its Lincoln County Connector run between Coulee Dam and Davenport is offered at no charge.
Federal Medicare rules and Washington law sit behind every date above, but the notice your own plan mailed is what counts for you; a call to 1-800-MEDICARE, to SHIBA or to a licensed agent can confirm the details before you switch anything.
Lincoln County readers ask
Is Original Medicare common in Lincoln County?
When should I apply for a Medigap policy if my plan ends December 31?
Does a Medigap policy cover my prescriptions?
Who runs SHIBA for Lincoln County?
Sources
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- RCW 48.66.055 (Medigap guaranteed issue)
- Washington OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
- Medicare: Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026)
- Medicare.gov: Part D costs and late enrollment penalty
- CMS CY2027 MA and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- Washington OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
- WA OFM population estimates
- CMS Hospital General Information
- Town of Wilbur: Wilbur Senior Center
- Community Living Connections local contacts
