Your Medicare plan is being discontinued in Everett. Start here.

Everett is where Snohomish County keeps its offices for older adults, and it is the county's largest city, with 114,900 people as of April 2026. If your Medicare Advantage plan wrote to say it is done after this year, most of the help you need is within the city limits. Start with the one date that decides whether you have a gap: December 31, 2026, the last day your current plan covers you.

Help you can reach in Everett

• Snohomish County Long-Term Care & Aging, the county's Area Agency on Aging, sits on the county campus at 3000 Rockefeller Ave. Office line: 425-388-7393. Its program page lists senior information and assistance, legal services for people over 60, senior peer counseling and volunteer transportation.
• The Carl Gipson Center, 3025 Lombard Ave., is Everett's county-listed senior center, operated by Volunteers of America Western Washington (425-818-2784). Ask whether they have OIC's Open Enrollment Tool Kit on hand.
• SHIBA. The county's sponsor is down in Edmonds, and on October 26, 2026, OIC's listing for it read "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." Use the statewide SHIBA number, 800-562-6900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or call Medicare directly at 1-800-633-4227 (TTY 1-877-486-2048), which is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays.
• Homage, the county's Community Living Connections contact, answers at 425-513-1900 for referrals to benefits help.

Everett next to the county

Sources: WA OFM; U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year (table B09020); CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026.

Everett's age mix tracks the county almost exactly. CMS doesn't publish city figures; countywide it's about 6 in 10 people on Medicare in Medicare Advantage and other health plans.

Why December 31 matters more than February 28

You will hear that you have until the end of February. That is true, and it is also how people end up paying full price at the pharmacy in January. Here is how the calendar actually works for a plan ending this year:

1. Now through December 7: regular Open Enrollment. Anything you pick starts January 1, 2027.
2. December 8 through December 31: your plan-ending special enrollment period has opened. A choice made in these weeks still starts January 1.
3. January 2027: a choice made this month starts February 1. January is uncovered for whatever you didn't replace.
4. February 2027: the last month of the special period. A choice starts March 1. After February 28, the window is shut.

If you make no choice at all, Medicare does not leave you uninsured. It moves you into Original Medicare on January 1. What it does not do is add a drug plan, so your prescriptions are on you until you buy a Part D plan (people with Extra Help are the exception, because CMS reassigns them to one). Stay without drug coverage 63 days or longer and Medicare can add a late penalty to your Part D premium for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

The Medigap side runs on a parallel clock. Washington law lets you buy certain Medigap policies with no health questions after a plan ends, as long as you go to Original Medicare. OIC says to apply no earlier than November 1; the right lasts until 63 days after your plan ends, March 4, 2027. Apply in November or December and the policy can start January 1. The statewide guide lists which Medigap plans this right covers.

Hospitals in Everett and what to check

State hospital records list two hospitals with an Everett address: the regional medical center on Colby Avenue, which is the city's acute-care hospital, and BHC Fairfax Hospital Everett. If you lean toward another Medicare Advantage plan, confirm the Colby Avenue hospital is in its 2027 network, and do the same for any specialist group you see. Networks change from year to year, and a plan available in Snohomish County won't necessarily include every Everett provider. With Original Medicare, the only network question is whether the provider takes Medicare.

Getting to appointments without a car

Everett Transit runs its own paratransit service, separate from the countywide DART. According to Everett Transit, it is door-to-door and open to people who qualify because of a disability, and to Everett residents 65 or older who have no other way to get around. The fare is $2, and an ORCA card works. Riders apply through an assessment interview, which can take up to two hours; schedule one with Transdev at 425-609-8006. If a plan change means a new clinic across town, line this up before your first appointment, not after.

This week, in order

• Find the plan's letter and check the end date printed on it.
• Write down every prescription, and every doctor and clinic you used this year.
• Run that list through Medicare Plan Finder for your Everett ZIP code, or ask 1-800-MEDICARE to do it with you.
• If money is tight, apply for a Medicare Savings Program through Washington Connection now.
• Set December 31 as your own deadline.

Your plan's notice sets your dates, and federal Medicare rules plus Washington law set your rights; before acting, confirm the details with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent.

Related pages: Washington statewide guide · Snohomish County · Arlington · Edmonds · Lake Stevens · Lynnwood · Marysville · Mill Creek · Monroe · Mountlake Terrace · Mukilteo · Snohomish

Everett residents ask

Sources

1. WA OFM: April 1, 2026 population of cities, towns and counties
2. U.S. Census Bureau: ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B09020 (population 65+)
3. CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026 (Washington counties)
4. Snohomish County Long-Term Care & Aging
5. Snohomish County: Senior Centers listing (2026, PDF)
6. Everett Transit: Paratransit
7. WA DOH hospital data (HOFIDAR, data.wa.gov)
8. CMS Hospital General Information
9. Washington OIC: Get free Medicare help from SHIBA
10. Washington OIC: Find a local SHIBA office (checked Oct 26, 2026)
11. Washington OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
12. CMS: CY 2027 MA and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
13. Medicare.gov: Part D costs and late enrollment penalty
14. RCW 48.66.055: Medigap guaranteed issue (Washington)
15. Medicare Plan Finder
16. Washington HCA: Medicare Savings Program