My Medicare Advantage plan is ending in Lake Stevens. What now?

Checklist first, explanations after

1. Find the letter. Your plan had to mail it at least 90 days before it ends, so it should have been mailed by early October. Note the end date. For almost everyone it is December 31, 2026.
2. Write down what you use: doctors, clinics, any hospital you have been to, your pharmacy, and every prescription with its dose.
3. Decide between two roads: another Medicare Advantage plan, or Original Medicare with a separate Part D drug plan and, if you want one and can get one, a Medigap policy.
4. If you are under 65, phone SHIBA's statewide number before you settle on Original Medicare. Medigap access works differently for you. Details below.
5. Make your choice by December 31 so it starts January 1, 2027.

Lake Stevens is the youngest city on our Snohomish County list. Census figures put about 3,450 residents at 65 or older (plus or minus 340), only 8.6% of the city, against 14.8% for the county. Some people on Medicare are under 65 because they qualified through a disability; countywide, CMS counted 10,994 such people in July 2026. Most of this page applies to everyone; one section is specifically for them.

Lake Stevens figures

Sources: WA OFM; U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 (B09020); CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026; WA DOH and CMS hospital files.

If you are under 65 and on Medicare

The Medigap part of this is where under-65 beneficiaries get caught. Here is what the sources say, plainly:

• Nationally, Medigap companies mostly aren't obligated to cover people younger than 65. CMS keeps a list of states that force them to, and this state is not on it.
• The Washington statute covering plan terminations, RCW 48.66.055, doesn't set a minimum age. The catch: a company is only bound to issue the policies it is already selling to new applicants, and when you look at OIC's approved Medigap list, some companies show rates for disabled beneficiaries younger than 65 and others show none.
• OIC itself tells people in this group that their choices are narrower, and offers to help.
• When you turn 65, you get a fresh six-month Medigap open enrollment period, even if you already have Part B.

What that means in practice: before you count on Original Medicare plus Medigap, find out whether a Medigap policy is actually available to you, and at what price. If it isn't, another Medicare Advantage plan, which has a yearly out-of-pocket limit, may look different to you. Either way, get the answer before December 31, not after.

The core rules, for any age

Your current plan pays through December 31, 2026. Choices made by then take effect January 1. There is also extra time built in for people whose plan is going away: a special window that opens December 8, 2026 and closes at the end of February 2027. Anything decided in January kicks in February 1; anything in February kicks in March 1.

Doing nothing puts you in Original Medicare on January 1. You keep Parts A and B, but your plan's drug coverage is gone and no new drug plan appears, unless you get Extra Help, in which case CMS assigns one. Going 63 days or more without drug coverage can bring a Part D late penalty that lasts as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

For those 65 and older moving to Original Medicare, Washington's guaranteed issue right to Medigap is straightforward: insurers must accept you for certain plans without health questions. OIC recommends sending the application November 1 or later, and the protection expires March 4, 2027. The statewide guide lists the plan letters.

No hospital in town: what to check

State and federal hospital records list no hospital with a Lake Stevens address. Wherever you go for hospital care, find out whether that specific hospital is in a new plan's 2027 network before you join. Ask the same about any specialist you see outside the city.

Help and rides

• Lake Stevens Senior Center, 2302 Soper Hill Road (425-335-0345), is on the county's senior center list. County senior centers are open to residents 55 and older.
• Community Transit reduced fare. Riders who show a Medicare card qualify for the reduced fare, not only those 65 and older: $1.00 a bus ride or $36 a month on an ORCA card, according to Community Transit.
• DART paratransit serves Snohomish County residents who can't use regular buses because of a disability or condition, within three-quarters of a mile of local bus routes. Reservations: 425-347-5912.
• SHIBA: the statewide number, 800-562-6900, picks up weekdays during business hours (8:30 to 4:30). OIC's local listing for the county said on October 26, 2026 that the local office was "Currently not accepting appointments" and sent people to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), which is available 24/7 except some federal holidays.

Your rights here come from federal Medicare law and Washington's insurance statutes, and your own plan's notice controls the dates; get them confirmed by 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before you act.

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

Lake Stevens questions

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. CMS: Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026)
5. RCW 48.66.055: Medigap guaranteed issue (Washington)
6. Washington OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
7. Washington OIC: 2026 Approved Medicare Supplement plans (PDF)
8. CMS: CY 2027 MA and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
9. Medicare.gov: Part D costs and late enrollment penalty
10. WA DOH hospital data (HOFIDAR, data.wa.gov)
11. CMS Hospital General Information
12. Snohomish County: Senior Centers listing (2026, PDF)
13. Community Transit: Fares and reduced fares
14. Community Transit: DART paratransit
15. Washington OIC: Get free Medicare help from SHIBA
16. Washington OIC: Find a local SHIBA office (checked Oct 26, 2026)