Anacortes Medicare plan discontinued: answers for an older town

Roughly one Anacortes resident in three is 65 or older. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey puts it at about 32%, or around 5,750 people, against about 23% for Skagit County as a whole. No other big city in the county skews this old, and more older residents means more people may be affected when a plan leaves the area. If your letter came this fall, here are straight answers to the questions I'd expect.

Anacortes and Skagit County side by side

Sources: WA OFM; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B09020; CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026 (county level only); CMS Hospital General Information.

CMS reports enrollment by county, not by city, so the honest local estimate is this: Anacortes holds about a fifth of Skagit's older residents (19.4% by the ACS count). If the county's split held in town (an assumption, not a count), something like 45 out of every 100 people on Medicare here would be in Medicare Advantage and other health plans. Not all of those plans are ending.

What Anacortes readers ask

Does my plan stop working right away?

No. It covers you through December 31, 2026. Keep your appointments at Island Hospital or your usual clinic as scheduled, and keep filling prescriptions where you always do.

How long do I have to decide?

Choose by December 31 and your new coverage begins January 1, 2027 with no break. Medicare's annual Open Enrollment closes December 7, but because your plan is the one leaving, you also get a special enrollment period from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027. Using it in January means a February 1 start; in February, a March 1 start. Those later dates leave holes, so I treat December 31 as the real deadline.

What if I let it ride?

You land in Original Medicare on January 1. Hospital and doctor coverage (Parts A and B) continues. Your drug coverage does not: nobody signs you up for Part D unless you get Extra Help, in which case CMS places you in a stand-alone drug plan. Everyone else needs to join one, ideally for a January 1 start.

Can I buy a Medigap policy at my age without a health exam?

This is the question that matters most in a town this old, because anyone with health conditions could have trouble with normal Medigap underwriting. The answer is yes, for a limited time, if you move to Original Medicare. A plan ending in your area triggers a guaranteed issue right under Washington law (RCW 48.66.055): the insurer must sell you the policy, can't exclude pre-existing conditions, and can't charge more because of your health.

Timing, step by step:

1. November 1, 2026: the Insurance Commissioner's office says apply no earlier than this date.
2. By December 31, 2026: get the application in, and the policy can start January 1, the day after your plan ends.
3. March 4, 2027: the right expires, 63 days after your plan's last day.

Which letters? If you were first eligible for Medicare before 2020, any of Plans A through F (including high-deductible F), K or L. If you were first eligible on or after January 1, 2020, A, B, D, G (including high-deductible G), K or L. The insurer only has to offer plans it currently sells to new customers.

Keep the plan's letter and the envelope with its postmark. The Medigap insurer may ask for a copy to prove you qualify.

Does the Medigap right still apply if I pick another Medicare Advantage plan?

No. It belongs to people moving to Original Medicare. Choose a new private plan and the window simply closes unused in March. That's not wrong; it's a trade, and you should make it on purpose.

I split time between Anacortes and somewhere else. Does that change things?

It can. Original Medicare works with any provider in the U.S. that accepts Medicare, which suits people who winter in Arizona or see a specialist in Seattle. Medicare Advantage plans may limit non-emergency care to a network and service area. If you're often off Fidalgo Island, that difference deserves real weight.

Help close to home

• Anacortes Senior Activity Center, 1701 22nd Street, 360-293-7473, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (city listing). A good place to ask about Medicare talks or events in town.
• SHIBA: OIC's local listings all said "Currently not accepting appointments" when we checked on October 26, 2026, and the only sponsor listed under Skagit County is in Edmonds. Use the statewide SHIBA line, 800-562-6900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays, and Plan Finder for comparing 2027 drug costs at your own pharmacy.
• Northwest Regional Council, the Area Agency on Aging, has its Skagit office at 301 Valley Mall Way in Mount Vernon (360.428.1301).
• Getting there: Skagit Transit's Route 409 runs in town, and the 40X, 513 and 615 connect Anacortes with Mount Vernon, Burlington and La Conner. A Medicare card qualifies you for the free Reduced Fare Permit. Islanders who ride Washington State Ferries can ask about the $3 Regional Reduced Fare Permit, which is honored on the ferries.

For the full statewide rules, including Part D cost limits and the PEBB retiree process, see our guide for Washington residents whose Medicare plan is discontinued, or go back to the Skagit County page.

Federal Medicare law and Washington statute set these rules, yet your own plan notice controls the dates in your case; run your situation past 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before acting.

Related pages: Washington statewide guide · Skagit County · Burlington · Mount Vernon · Sedro-Woolley

Quick answers for Anacortes

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024, table B09020
2. WA OFM April 1, 2026 population estimates
3. CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
4. CMS Hospital General Information
5. WA OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
6. RCW 48.66.055
7. Medicare.gov: Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026)
8. City of Anacortes: Senior Activity Center
9. Skagit Transit reduced fares
10. WA OIC: SHIBA