Medicare Advantage Plan Discontinued in Skagit County

Skagit County had 36,053 people on Medicare in July 2026, and 16,302 of them were in Medicare Advantage and other health plans (CMS counts, July 2026). That group is where this year's plan-ending letters land. If one of them reached your mailbox in Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Burlington, Sedro-Woolley or somewhere up the Skagit River, your plan pays its last claims on December 31, 2026, and what you pick before then decides how January starts.

Skagit's Medicare picture in one table

Measure (CMS counts, July 2026)	Skagit County	Share
People with Medicare	36,053	100%
Original Medicare	19,751	54.8%
Medicare Advantage and other health plans	16,302	45.2%
Eligible for both Medicare and Apple Health (dual-eligible)	4,210	11.7%
On Medicare because of a disability	2,414	6.7%
Drug coverage inside a Medicare Advantage plan	15,300	n/a
Stand-alone Part D drug plan	13,759	n/a

Source: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026. Counts are people, not plans. The Medicare Advantage figure includes cost plans and PACE.

Two things jump out. First, Skagit leans toward Original Medicare: 54.8% here against a statewide Medicare Advantage share of 49.7%. That's a county pattern, not a recommendation; both roads are open to you.

Second, look at the drug lines. 15,300 people get their prescriptions through a Medicare Advantage plan. When a plan ends, that drug coverage ends with it on the same day. The medical side has a safety net (more on that below). The pharmacy side does not, and that is the part I'd watch most closely here.

About one in four county residents is on Medicare (36,053 against an OFM population of 135,350 in April 2026), and OFM counted 33,226 residents 65 and older in 2025, close to a quarter of the county. CMS does not publish how many of those people got a non-renewal letter, so nobody can honestly tell you whether it was hundreds or thousands. What the table tells you is the size of the pool that could be affected.

Three hospital towns, one network question

Skagit has three hospitals on the federal CMS hospital list, spread along State Route 20 and Interstate 5:

Anacortes: Island Hospital, an acute care hospital (despite the name, it sits in Skagit County, on Fidalgo Island).
Mount Vernon: Skagit Valley Hospital, an acute care hospital on Kincaid Street.
Sedro-Woolley: a critical access hospital on Hospital Drive.

Here is why that matters. If you pick another Medicare Advantage plan, each of those hospitals, your primary care clinic and any specialist you see has to be in the new plan's 2027 network for routine care. A plan built around one hospital system may treat the others as out of network. Someone in Concrete or Marblemount who uses the Sedro-Woolley hospital has a different checklist than someone in Anacortes whose cardiologist practices in Mount Vernon. Ask each office directly, by name of the plan, and write down who told you yes.

If you go back to Original Medicare instead, the network question mostly disappears: you can see any doctor or hospital in the country that accepts Medicare. That includes specialists in Bellingham, Everett or Seattle, if that's where your care takes you. The trade-off is that Original Medicare by itself has no yearly cap on what you pay, which is where a Medigap policy comes in.

The dates, stated once

The federal rules don't change at the county line, so here they are briefly. The full walk-through with every exception is on our Washington guide to a discontinued Medicare plan.

Through December 31, 2026: your current plan keeps working. Use your doctors and pharmacy normally.
Now through December 31: any choice you make starts January 1, 2027, so there is no gap. Open Enrollment runs to December 7, and your plan-ending right carries you past that date.
December 8, 2026 to February 28, 2027: your special enrollment period. Sign up in January and coverage begins February 1; sign up in February and it begins March 1.
If you choose nothing: Medicare moves you to Original Medicare on January 1. Parts A and B continue. No drug plan is added for you unless you get Extra Help, in which case CMS reassigns you to a stand-alone Part D plan.

Why the pharmacy side deserves the most attention

Let 63 or more straight days pass with no Part D or other creditable drug coverage, and Medicare can attach a late enrollment penalty to your drug premium for as long as you have Part D. The penalty is 1% of the national base beneficiary premium for each full month you went without. CMS set that base at $41.33 for 2027. Six uncovered months would add about $2.50 to every monthly premium (Medicare rounds to the nearest 10 cents), for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage. Small per month, but it lasts, and the bigger cost is paying full price at the pharmacy while you're uncovered.

The fix is simple: whatever road you take, have drug coverage that starts January 1. If you stay with Medicare Advantage, check that your new plan includes drugs and that your pharmacy (the one in Burlington or the one by your house in La Conner) is in it. If you go to Original Medicare, join a stand-alone Part D plan by December 31. Run your actual list through Medicare Plan Finder; drug lists differ from plan to plan even when premiums look similar.

The Medigap door, and when it closes

Because your plan is ending, Washington law (RCW 48.66.055) gives you a guaranteed issue right to buy a Medigap policy without health questions, as long as you move to Original Medicare. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner says to apply no earlier than November 1. Apply by December 31 and the policy can begin January 1. The right runs out 63 days after your plan ends, which is March 4, 2027.

Which policies? If you first became eligible for Medicare before 2020, you may pick Plans A through F (including high-deductible F), K or L. If you first became eligible on or after January 1, 2020, the menu is A, B, D, G (high-deductible G counts), K or L. Pick a new Medicare Advantage plan and this protection goes unused; a Medigap application filed years later can usually be screened on your health.

Who to call from the valley

SHIBA. OIC's local SHIBA listing for Skagit County shows one sponsor, Edmonds Waterfront Center in Edmonds, and its listing notes it serves Camano Island. When we checked on October 26, 2026, that listing (like every local one in the state) read: "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." So skip the drive. Call the statewide SHIBA line at 800-562-6900 (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.) or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), which answers around the clock, except some federal holidays.

Northwest Regional Council. This is the Area Agency on Aging for Skagit, Island, San Juan and Whatcom counties. Its Community Living Connections office for Skagit is at 301 Valley Mall Way, Suite 100, in Mount Vernon (360.428.1301). Community Living Connections lists it as serving older adults, persons with disabilities, and their families.

Money help. If your budget is tight, Washington's Medicare Savings Programs can pay Part B premiums and, at the lowest income level, deductibles and copays, with no asset test. Qualifying also gets you Extra Help with drugs automatically. With 4,210 dual-eligible residents, Skagit has a real number of people who should check this before choosing anything.

Getting to a new doctor. If a new plan means a new clinic, Skagit Transit issues a free Reduced Fare Permit to anyone with a Medicare card, which cuts the standard local bus fare in half, from one dollar to 50 cents. Apply at Skagit Station (105 East Kincaid, Mount Vernon) or the business office in Burlington, or call (360) 757-4433 to get the form mailed. Riders who can't use the fixed-route bus because of a disability can apply for paratransit, which serves riders countywide within three-quarters of a mile of a bus route.

Pages for Skagit cities

Each of the county's larger cities has its own page with local details: Anacortes, Burlington, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley.

Everything above follows federal Medicare rules and Washington law, but the dates printed on your own plan's letter are what govern your case, so check them with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before you switch.

Skagit County questions

How many people in Skagit County are in Medicare Advantage and other health plans?

CMS counted 16,302 people in Medicare Advantage and other health plans in July 2026, about 45.2% of the county's 36,053 Medicare beneficiaries. CMS does not publish how many of them are in a plan that is ending.

My plan ends December 31. Do I have to decide before then?

To avoid any gap, yes: a choice made by December 31, 2026 starts January 1, 2027. You still have a special enrollment period through February 28, 2027, but a later choice starts February 1 or March 1.

Will Island Hospital, Skagit Valley Hospital and the Sedro-Woolley hospital all take my new coverage?

Under Original Medicare, any hospital that accepts Medicare can treat you. Under a Medicare Advantage plan, check each hospital and clinic against that plan's 2027 network before you join.

Is there a local SHIBA office in Skagit County taking appointments?

On October 26, 2026, OIC's only listing for Skagit County was a sponsor in Edmonds, and it said it was not accepting appointments. Call SHIBA statewide at 800-562-6900 on weekdays or 1-800-MEDICARE any time except some federal holidays.

Your Medicare Advantage plan is ending in Skagit County. Here is the plan for December.