Puyallup is one of the few Pierce County cities where you can handle every piece of a plan change close to home: a hospital (MultiCare Good Samaritan, on 15th Avenue SE), a Social Security field office on South Hill, and a city-run Activity Center downtown. If your Medicare Advantage plan is ending on December 31, 2026, that combination matters most when money is tight, and that's where this page spends its time.
Example: a South Hill resident with a plan-ending letter
Example: Picture a 71-year-old on South Hill, living on Social Security, whose Medicare Advantage plan sent a non-renewal letter in early October. She used it for doctor visits at Good Samaritan and for her three prescriptions. Her monthly budget is thin, and the idea of adding a drug plan premium and maybe a Medigap premium makes her want to ignore the whole thing. This is a made-up person, but the decisions are real ones. Here is how I'd walk her through it.
Step 1: Check whether she qualifies for help paying, before comparing anything. Washington's Medicare Savings Programs are Apple Health benefits that pay Medicare premiums, and at the lowest income tier also deductibles and copays. The Health Care Authority says these programs have no asset test, so savings in the bank don't automatically disqualify her. She applies online at washingtonconnection.org or on paper. Qualifying for one of these programs also means she automatically qualifies for Extra Help with drug costs.
Step 2: If she isn't eligible for a savings program, apply for Extra Help on its own. Extra Help is federal and runs through Social Security. Puyallup has an SSA field office at 811 South Hill Park Dr, Suite A, listed on SSA's office file as open weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (phone 855-886-9627). Call ahead before you go.
Step 3: Decide which road, now that she knows her costs. Either another Medicare Advantage plan that includes Good Samaritan and her doctors in its 2027 network, or Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan and, if she wants it, a Medigap policy. Neither is right for everyone. Her prescriptions get run through Medicare Plan Finder for both roads.
Step 4: Finish by December 31. Whatever she picks starts January 1, 2027. That's the clean finish.
Why Extra Help matters even more when a plan leaves
Three rules work in favor of people with Extra Help in this situation:
- No orphaned drug coverage. If you have Extra Help and your Medicare Advantage plan is ending, CMS reassigns you to a stand-alone Part D plan, unless you've already got Part D lined up for 2027. Everyone else who does nothing starts January with no drug plan at all.
- No late penalty. Medicare.gov says people who get Extra Help don't pay the Part D late enrollment penalty.
- More chances to switch. With Medicaid or Extra Help you can move to a different stand-alone drug plan once a calendar month, with the change starting the first of the next month.
Pierce County's numbers show how many people this touches. CMS counted 27,891 dual-eligible residents (Medicare plus Apple Health) in July 2026, out of 176,141 people with Medicare. Puyallup itself has about 6,900 residents 65 and older, 16.2% of the city, according to the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey (margin of error 550).
Dates for Puyallup residents
| When | What it means |
|---|---|
| Through Dec 31, 2026 | Your current plan still covers visits and prescriptions |
| Nov 1, 2026 onward | OIC's suggested start for Medigap applications under your guaranteed issue right |
| By Dec 31, 2026 | Choose your replacement for a January 1 start |
| Dec 8, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027 | Special enrollment period for people whose plan is leaving |
| Jan 1, 2027 | No choice made = Original Medicare, without drug coverage unless you have Extra Help |
| Mar 4, 2027 | Guaranteed issue right for Medigap ends |
Sources: CMS CY2027 enrollment guidance, OIC, RCW 48.66.055.
About that Medigap right: Washington law makes insurers sell you certain Medigap policies without health questions because your plan is leaving, as long as you go to Original Medicare. It ends 63 days after the plan does. Details and the exact plan letters are in my guide for Washington Medicare plans that are being discontinued.
Help in Puyallup
- Puyallup Activity Center, 210 W Pioneer, 253-841-5555, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's the city's senior services hub; ask what Medicare help is on the calendar.
- SHIBA statewide line, 800-562-6900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. OIC's local listing for Pierce County was showing no appointments as of October 26, 2026 and pointing people to 1-800-MEDICARE, so start with the statewide number.
- Pierce County Aging and Disability Resources, 253-798-4600, for rides, in-home help and benefits screening.
- Pierce Transit's South Hill Runner, an on-demand service running daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and $1 bus rides for people 65 and older or with a Medicare card who carry a Regional Reduced Fare Permit.
Countywide figures and links to the other Pierce County cities are on the Pierce County Medicare plan page.
Federal Medicare law and Washington statutes set these rules, and your plan's notice decides your own dates; run your situation past SHIBA, 1-800-MEDICARE or a licensed agent before you act.
Puyallup questions about plan non-renewal
Is there a Social Security office in Puyallup for Extra Help?
Will I lose my drug coverage if my Puyallup plan ends and I have Extra Help?
Does a Medicare Savings Program count my savings?
Where can Puyallup seniors ask about Medicare in person?
Sources
- City of Puyallup: Senior Services
- SSA field office data
- WA HCA: Medicare Savings Program
- Medicare.gov: Part D costs, Extra Help
- Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods
- CMS CY2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024, table B09020
- CMS Hospital General Information
- WA OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
- Pierce Transit: Runner
- RCW 48.66.055
