University Place is an older city than most of its neighbors. About 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (roughly 6,800 people, margin of error 710, per the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey), compared with 14.8% across Pierce County. It also has no hospital inside city limits on the state Department of Health list; the nearest ones on that list are in neighboring Tacoma and Lakewood. Put those together and a dropped Medicare Advantage plan here is mostly a calendar problem and a network problem. This page handles the calendar first.
A calendar for a plan that ends December 31, 2026
| Window | What you can do | When new coverage starts |
|---|---|---|
| Now through Dec 7 | Regular Open Enrollment: switch to another Medicare Advantage plan, or to Original Medicare with a drug plan | Jan 1, 2027 |
| From Nov 1 | Apply for a Medigap policy using your guaranteed issue right (OIC's suggested start) | When your plan ends, Jan 1, 2027 |
| Dec 8 through Dec 31 | Your plan-leaving special enrollment period is open | Jan 1, 2027 |
| January 2027 | Same special period, still open | Feb 1, 2027 |
| February 2027 | Last month of the special period (ends Feb 28) | Mar 1, 2027 |
| Through Mar 4, 2027 | Last day to use the Medigap guaranteed issue right | Set with the insurer; a later application means a later start |
Sources: CMS CY2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D enrollment guidance (section 30.6.10); WA OIC; RCW 48.66.055.
Read the right-hand column carefully. Anything you do on or before December 31 starts January 1, so you go straight from the old plan to the new one. Anything you do in January or February works, but it starts a month or two late, and for those weeks you have only Original Medicare.
What a late choice actually costs
The cost of waiting shows up at the pharmacy first. If your old plan included drug coverage (nearly all Medicare Advantage members in Pierce County get Part D through their plan: 86,770 of 91,398 in CMS's July 2026 count), that coverage ends December 31. If you sign up for a stand-alone Part D plan in February, it starts March 1, and you've gone January and February with no drug coverage.
That gap is 59 days. Medicare's late enrollment penalty kicks in at 63 days without creditable drug coverage, so you'd technically stay under the line. But "technically" doesn't fill a prescription. For two months you'd pay full price for every medication, and if one slip pushes the start date to April, you've crossed 63 days. The penalty is 1% of the national base beneficiary premium ($41.33 in 2027) for each uncovered month, added to your premium for as long as you have Part D. People with Extra Help don't owe it, and CMS reassigns them to a drug plan when their Medicare Advantage plan ends.
My advice for anyone in UP: treat December 31 as the deadline and February 28 as the emergency exit.
The network check, University Place edition
Because there's no hospital in the city itself, the hospital you'd actually be taken to is somewhere else: on the state and CMS lists, Tacoma has St. Joseph Medical Center and MultiCare Tacoma General/Allenmore, and Lakewood has St. Clare Hospital. If you're considering another Medicare Advantage plan, look up the specific hospital you use and every doctor by name in that plan's 2027 directory. If you move to Original Medicare, those hospitals take Medicare patients without a network question, and you'd add a drug plan and, if you choose, a Medigap policy.
On Medigap: because your plan is leaving, Washington law requires insurers to sell certain Medigap policies to you without health underwriting during your window. You use that right only by going to Original Medicare. If you join another Medicare Advantage plan, the right lapses after March 4, 2027 and you'd face health questions if you wanted Medigap later. The Washington guide to discontinued Medicare plans covers which plan letters are included.
Who to call from University Place
- SHIBA (free and unbiased, run by the state insurance commissioner): 800-562-6900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Local SHIBA listings across Washington, including Pierce County's, said on October 26, 2026 that they weren't booking appointments and referred people to Medicare, so use the statewide line.
- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227): 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays, for plan comparisons and enrollment.
- Community Connection Place is University Place's entry on Pierce County's senior centers list. For its current hours, or for help with rides and in-home support, Pierce County Aging and Disability Resources is at 253-798-4600.
- Pierce Transit reduced fares ($1 a ride for people 65+ or with a Medicare card, with a Regional Reduced Fare Permit) if a new doctor is a bus ride away.
For countywide enrollment numbers and links to nearby cities, see the Pierce County Medicare plan page.
What controls in the end is federal Medicare law, Washington insurance law and the dates in your own plan notice, so double-check your case with SHIBA, 1-800-MEDICARE or a licensed agent.
University Place: common questions
My plan dropped me. Is February 28 really my deadline in University Place?
Is there a hospital in University Place?
Will I owe a Part D penalty if I pick a drug plan in February?
Where can University Place seniors get Medicare help?
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024, table B09020
- WA DOH hospital data (HOFIDAR)
- CMS Hospital General Information
- CMS CY2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- Medicare.gov: Part D costs and late penalty
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- WA OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
- RCW 48.66.055
- WA OIC: Find a local SHIBA office
- Pierce County Senior Centers
- Pierce Transit: Fares
