Fife is a young city. Only about 7.2% of residents are 65 or older, roughly 790 people (Census ACS five-year estimate for 2020-2024, plus or minus 155), the lowest share of any Pierce County city we cover. If you're one of the Fife residents who got a non-renewal letter, this page walks through what to do.
I'm going to spend extra time on one group: people with both Medicare and Apple Health. Their rules are different, more forgiving in some ways, and they're often the ones who get the least clear explanation.
How many people this applies to
| Pierce County, CMS July 2026 | People |
|---|---|
| Everyone with Medicare | 176,141 |
| Dual-eligible (Medicare plus Apple Health) | 27,891 |
| Full-benefit dual-eligible | 18,594 |
| Partial-benefit dual-eligible (help with Medicare costs only) | 9,297 |
| In Medicare Advantage and other health plans | 91,398 |
Source: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026. CMS does not publish these counts by city.
About one in six people with Medicare in the county is dual-eligible. Two-thirds of those have full Apple Health benefits. If you're in either group, read the next section before you do anything else.
If you have Apple Health and your plan is leaving
You won't be left without drug coverage. Anyone with Medicaid automatically qualifies for Extra Help, and CMS reassigns people with Extra Help from an ending Medicare Advantage plan into a stand-alone Part D plan, unless they've already chosen Part D for 2027. The assignment isn't a life sentence: choose another drug plan if the one CMS picks doesn't cover your medications.
You can change your drug plan once a month. With Medicaid or Extra Help, Medicare allows one move per calendar month into another stand-alone drug plan, effective on the 1st of the next month. That monthly option doesn't let you hop between Medicare Advantage plans, though.
If you have full Apple Health, there's another monthly option. You can join or switch to an integrated Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan once a month, if one is offered where you live. Washington's Health Care Authority calls these plans Apple Health Medicare Connect. They're a type of Medicare Advantage plan meant to coordinate your Medicare and Apple Health services, and HCA says even people whose Apple Health only covers Medicare cost-sharing can enroll.
You still have the regular plan-leaving window. Like everyone else, you can use the special enrollment period from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027.
No late penalty. Extra Help recipients are exempt from the Part D late penalty.
If you don't have Apple Health
Your plan covers you through December 31, 2026. Pick a replacement by that date for coverage that starts January 1. If you don't, Medicare places you in Original Medicare with no drug plan on January 1, and every month after that without Part D costs you at the pharmacy, with a late penalty possible once a gap reaches 63 days. The two paths: a different Medicare Advantage plan, or Original Medicare paired with separate Part D. If you take Original Medicare, Washington's guaranteed issue law means a Medigap insurer must accept you, without health questions, until March 4, 2027; OIC says apply from November 1. Details are in the Washington guide to plan discontinuations.
And check whether you qualify for help you don't have yet. The Health Care Authority's Medicare Savings Programs pay Medicare premiums for people with limited income, with no asset test. Apply at washingtonconnection.org. Getting into a savings program brings automatic Extra Help eligibility.
Practical things for Fife
- Doctors and hospitals. Fife has no hospital in the city on the state Department of Health list; the county's hospital cluster is in Tacoma. Check every provider by name against any new plan's 2027 network.
- Getting there. Pierce Transit's Tideflats Runner, an on-demand service, covers Fife, Milton, Edgewood and part of Tacoma, weekdays 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can book by phone at 253-581-8000, option 4, without a smartphone. With Pierce Transit's reduced fare permit (age 65+ or a Medicare card qualifies), a bus ride is $1.
- A local place to ask. Pierce County's senior center list includes the Fife Community Center.
- Help with Apple Health, rides and in-home care. The county's Aging and Disability Resources office answers at 253-798-4600.
- Medicare counseling. SHIBA statewide, 800-562-6900 (weekdays 8:30 to 4:30). On October 26, 2026, OIC's page showed the Pierce County SHIBA office as not booking appointments, with a referral to Medicare at 1-800-633-4227.
Countywide context lives on the Pierce County overview.
Apple Health and Medicare rules come from federal law and Washington's own programs, and your plan's letter fixes your dates; get confirmation from SHIBA, a licensed agent or 1-800-MEDICARE before changing anything.
Fife questions, Apple Health included
I have Apple Health and live in Fife. Will I lose drug coverage when my plan ends?
What is Apple Health Medicare Connect?
Can I get a ride to a new doctor from Fife?
Sources
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024, table B09020
- Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods
- CMS CY2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- WA HCA: Apple Health Medicare Connect
- WA HCA: Medicare Savings Program
- Medicare.gov: Part D costs, Extra Help
- Pierce Transit: Runner
- Pierce Transit: Fares
- Pierce County Senior Centers
- WA OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
- RCW 48.66.055
