Snohomish County Medicare Plan Leaving in 2027: What to Do

In July 2026, CMS counted 91,088 people in Snohomish County enrolled in Medicare Advantage and other health plans. That is close to 60% of everyone on Medicare here, about ten points above the Washington average of 49.7%. If a plan-ending letter landed in your mailbox, the plan still pays your claims through December 31, 2026, and nothing about your Part A or Part B changes.

What follows is the Snohomish County version: the local numbers, where the hospitals are, who answers the phone for free help, and how to get to a new doctor if you need one. The federal rules get a short section, because they are the same in every county.

Medicare in Snohomish County, by the numbers

Measure	Snohomish County	Washington
People with Medicare	152,940	1,586,306
In Medicare Advantage and other health plans	91,088 (59.6%)	49.7%
In Original Medicare	61,852 (40.4%)	50.3%
Dual-eligible (Medicare and Apple Health)	22,183 (14,418 full, 7,765 partial)	239,101
On Medicare because of a disability	10,994	127,500
Drug coverage inside a Medicare Advantage plan	87,997	752,773
Stand-alone Part D drug plan	35,605	503,353

Source: CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026. Counts are people, not plans. "Other health plans" includes cost plans and PACE.

For scale: OFM put the county at 879,700 residents on April 1, 2026, and counted 146,061 people aged 65 and older a year earlier. The Medicare count runs higher than the 65+ count because it includes people under 65 who qualify through disability.

What these figures mean if you got a letter

The plan-based majority. About 6 in 10 local beneficiaries are in Medicare Advantage and other health plans. The SHIBA sponsor for this county already says on its own website that its Open Enrollment events are full (more on that below). Plan your own timeline around that, not around the February deadline.

Drug coverage rides with the plan. Nearly 88,000 people here get Part D through their Medicare Advantage plan. When that plan ends, the drug coverage ends with it. That single fact is why "I'll just let it lapse into Original Medicare" is riskier than it sounds.

One in seven is dual-eligible. 22,183 people, 14.5% of the county's Medicare population, also have Apple Health. If that is you, CMS has a safety net: people with Extra Help whose plan is ending get moved into a stand-alone drug plan unless they already have Part D lined up for 2027. You can still choose your own.

Nearly 11,000 are under 65 on disability. This group has the narrowest Medigap options. Washington's guaranteed issue law has no age limit for a plan that ends, but an insurer only has to offer what it sells to new customers, and not every insurer offers under-65 rates. Call SHIBA before deciding.

About 29,000 people have no Part D enrollment at all. Some of them likely have drug coverage from somewhere else, such as a former employer. If you are one of them and your Medicare Advantage plan is the thing ending, check whether your drug coverage was actually part of that plan.

Hospitals by town, and why the map matters

The county covers about 2,087 square miles, from the Puget Sound shoreline into the Cascades, with the Snohomish, Skykomish and Stillaguamish rivers running through it. Hospitals cluster along the I-5 corridor and in Monroe. Here is what state and federal hospital records list inside the county:

Town	Hospital listed	Type
Arlington	Skagit Regional Health, Cascade Valley Hospital	Acute care
Edmonds	A hospital on 76th Avenue West in Edmonds	Acute care
Everett	A regional medical center on Colby Avenue in Everett	Acute care
Everett	BHC Fairfax Hospital Everett	DOH-licensed; not in CMS acute list
Lynnwood	A rehabilitation hospital in Lynnwood	Rehabilitation
Marysville	Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital	Psychiatric
Monroe	EvergreenHealth Monroe	Acute care
Monroe	BHC Fairfax Hospital Monroe	DOH-licensed; not in CMS acute list

Source: WA DOH hospital data (HOFIDAR) and CMS Hospital General Information, retrieved October 2026. A mailing city can sit outside city limits.

Only four of those are general acute-care hospitals. If you live in Darrington, Granite Falls or up the Skykomish valley, none of them is in your town. If you live in south county, your doctors may well be across the line in King County, which borders this county. Before you pick a new Medicare Advantage plan, check that the specific hospital you would actually go to is in its 2027 network, along with your doctors. If you go to Original Medicare, the question becomes simpler: does the provider accept Medicare?

The federal rules in one pass

Your plan's last day is December 31, 2026. Choose replacement coverage by then and it begins January 1, 2027.
Because your plan is ending, you also get a special enrollment period from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027. A pick in January starts February 1; a pick in February starts March 1.
Choose nothing, and Medicare moves you to Original Medicare on January 1 with no drug plan attached, unless you get Extra Help and CMS reassigns you.
Washington gives you a guaranteed issue right to buy certain Medigap policies without health questions if you move to Original Medicare. OIC says to apply no earlier than November 1. The right ends 63 days after the plan does, March 4, 2027.
A gap in drug coverage of 63 days or more can bring a Part D late penalty that is added for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

The statewide Washington guide walks through each of these with the plan lists and edge cases.

Who to call in Snohomish County

SHIBA. The local sponsor is the Edmonds Waterfront Center, 220 Railroad Ave. in Edmonds, which says its volunteers serve Snohomish and Skagit counties and Camano Island. Its SHIBA page currently says all Open Enrollment events are full and it is no longer taking appointment requests. OIC's local office listing, checked October 26, 2026, says the same thing in different words: "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." The statewide SHIBA line, 800-562-6900 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday), was still listed. The Waterfront Center also points people to OIC's printed Open Enrollment Tool Kit, which you can pick up at a library or senior center.

1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048) answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays, and Medicare.gov lists calling it as one of the ways to join a plan.

The Area Agency on Aging. Snohomish County Long-Term Care & Aging in the county campus at 3000 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett is the designated AAA (office line 425-388-7393). For general information and referrals, it sends people to Homage, which runs the Community Living Connections contact for the county at 5026 196th St. SW in Lynnwood, 425-513-1900.

Senior centers. The county funds a network of senior centers open to residents 55 and older, from the Stilly Valley Center in Arlington to the Monroe Community Senior Center. Staff there can often tell you where the nearest Medicare class or tool kit is.

If a new plan means a new doctor across the county

Community Transit charges a reduced fare of $1.00 a ride, or $36 for a monthly pass, to riders 65 and older, riders with disabilities, and people who show a Medicare card, paid through an ORCA card. Its DART paratransit service picks up and drops off within three-quarters of a mile of local bus routes for people who can't use the regular bus because of a disability or condition; reservations are at 425-347-5912. Everett Transit runs its own door-to-door paratransit for city residents. The county's aging office also lists a volunteer transportation program.

City pages in Snohomish County

Each of these looks at one city's age profile, hospitals and nearby help: Arlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lake Stevens, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo and Snohomish.

This page summarizes; the binding words are in federal Medicare law, Washington's insurance code and the notice your own plan mailed you, so check your dates with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before you switch.

Snohomish County questions

How common are Medicare Advantage plans in Snohomish County?

CMS counted 91,088 of the county's 152,940 Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage and other health plans in July 2026, about 59.6%. The statewide share was 49.7%.

Is the Edmonds SHIBA office taking appointments for my plan ending?

When we checked on October 26, 2026, OIC listed the Edmonds Waterfront Center as the county's SHIBA sponsor with the note "Currently not accepting appointments," and the center's own page said its Open Enrollment events were full. Call the statewide SHIBA line, 800-562-6900, or 1-800-MEDICARE.

What is my last day to switch without a gap in Snohomish County?

December 31, 2026. Coverage chosen by then starts January 1, 2027. The special enrollment period for a plan that is ending runs December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027, but later choices start February 1 or March 1.

Which hospitals are in Snohomish County?

State and federal records list acute-care hospitals in Arlington, Edmonds, Everett and Monroe, plus a rehabilitation hospital in Lynnwood and behavioral or psychiatric hospitals in Everett, Marysville and Monroe. Check any hospital you use against a new plan's 2027 network.

Medicare Advantage plan ending in Snohomish County: your 2027 options