My Medicare Advantage Plan Is Ending: Burlington, WA

Burlington has no hospital inside city limits. Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon is about 3.5 miles from the middle of town as the crow flies, and the critical access hospital in Sedro-Woolley about 5.4 miles. For most people that's a short drive. For a Burlington resident whose Medicare Advantage plan is ending, it means one thing: every piece of your care already happens somewhere else, so any new plan has to cover doctors spread across two or three towns.

Burlington in numbers

Population, April 1, 2026 (OFM): 11,200
Residents 65 and older (ACS 2020–2024): about 1,600 (margin ±273)
Share 65 and older: about 16%, compared with 22.6% for Skagit County
Hospital in the city (DOH and CMS lists): None; nearest listed hospitals are in Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley
Skagit County Medicare enrollment (CMS, July 2026): 36,053 people; 16,302 (45.2%) in Medicare Advantage and other health plans

Sources: WA OFM; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B09020; CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026 (county level; CMS does not publish city counts); CMS Hospital General Information; distances are straight-line between Census Gazetteer points.

Burlington is younger than the county around it, with roughly one resident in six at 65 or older. That doesn't make your letter less serious. If someone you trust can sit down with you and a laptop for an hour, use them.

Example: one Burlington retiree's next nine weeks

Example: this is a made-up person, used to show how the dates fit together. Carol is 72, lives off Burlington Boulevard, and got a letter in early October saying her Medicare Advantage plan won't be offered in Skagit County next year. She sees a primary care doctor in Burlington, a cardiologist in Mount Vernon, and fills three prescriptions at a local pharmacy.

Late October. Carol finds the letter and its envelope and puts both in a folder. She writes down every doctor, the hospital she'd want for an emergency, her pharmacy, and each drug with its dose.
Early November. She enters her drugs and pharmacy into Medicare Plan Finder for 2027 and looks at two roads: another Medicare Advantage plan, or Original Medicare with a separate Part D plan and possibly a Medigap policy. For each Medicare Advantage option, she calls her cardiologist's office in Mount Vernon and asks whether they'll be in network in 2027.
Mid-November. If Carol leans toward Original Medicare, she can apply for a Medigap policy now. The Insurance Commissioner's office says apply no earlier than November 1, and because her plan is leaving, the insurer can't turn her down or price her on her health.
By December 7. Annual Open Enrollment closes. Carol isn't stuck if she misses it, but anything she submits before this date is simple and starts January 1.
December 8 to 31. Her plan-ending special enrollment period is open. Anything chosen in these weeks still starts January 1. This is her personal deadline.
January 1, 2027. New coverage begins. Had Carol done nothing, she'd be in Original Medicare with no drug plan.

Carol's story ends neatly. Real life doesn't always, so here's what happens if she slips.

If December 31 passes

You aren't left uninsured. Medicare puts you in Original Medicare on January 1, so Part A and Part B keep paying. But your old plan's drug coverage is gone, and Original Medicare doesn't add Part D automatically. The one exception: people who get Extra Help are reassigned by CMS to a stand-alone drug plan.

You still have until February 28, 2027 to make a choice under the special enrollment period. Sign up in January and it starts February 1. Sign up in February and it starts March 1. Two months without drug coverage stays under the 63-day line that triggers Part D's late penalty, but you'd pay full retail at the pharmacy that whole time.

One trap: the January 1 to March 31 Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period only helps people who are in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1. If you defaulted to Original Medicare, it doesn't apply to you. Your window to join a new Medicare Advantage plan closes February 28.

And the Medigap right has its own clock: it runs out March 4, 2027, 63 days after the old plan ends.

What Part D looks like in 2027

If you take the Original Medicare road, no Part D plan can charge a deductible above $700 in 2027, and your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs is capped at $2,400 for the year. Plans still differ on which drugs they list and which pharmacies they use, so the cap alone doesn't pick a plan for you.

Help in and around Burlington

Burlington Senior Center, 1011 Greenleaf Avenue. Skagit County runs it, and it houses the county's Meals on Wheels kitchen. Program questions: 360-755-0102 (city facility page).
Skagit Transit Business Office, 600 County Shop Lane, Burlington, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bring your Medicare card and ID to get a free Reduced Fare Permit. Routes 101, 208, 301 and 513 link Burlington with Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley and Anacortes, handy if a new plan sends you to a different clinic.
SHIBA, the state's free and unbiased Medicare counseling program: OIC's local listings were not accepting appointments when we checked on October 26, 2026. Call the statewide SHIBA number, 800-562-6900, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 4:30.
1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays.
Northwest Regional Council (Area Agency on Aging), Skagit office in Mount Vernon, 360.428.1301, for help applying for programs that lower Medicare costs.

The full rulebook, including dual-eligible and PEBB details, is in our statewide page on discontinued Medicare plans. County numbers and hospital notes are on the Skagit County page.

Federal Medicare rules and Washington law sit behind every date here, though the notice from your own plan has the final word on your timeline; confirm with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.

Burlington readers ask

Is there a hospital in Burlington, WA?

Not on the state DOH or CMS hospital lists. The nearest listed hospitals are Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon and a critical access hospital in Sedro-Woolley, a few miles away.

What is the last day to pick a new plan without a gap?

December 31, 2026. Anything you choose by then starts January 1, 2027. The special enrollment period continues to February 28, 2027, with later start dates.

If I end up in Original Medicare on January 1, can I still join a Medicare Advantage plan in March?

Not through the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, which is only for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan. Your plan-ending special enrollment period lets you join one through February 28, 2027.

Where in Burlington can I get a reduced bus fare card?

At the Skagit Transit Business Office, 600 County Shop Lane. The Skagit Transit Reduced Fare Permit is free for people with a Medicare card.

My Medicare Advantage plan is ending in Burlington. What now?