If your Medicare Advantage plan has been dropped and you live in Pullman, start with the people and places you can reach this week. Your plan still pays through December 31, 2026, so there's time, but not a lot of it. Local help first, then the numbers, then the short version of the rules.
Who to call from Pullman
- Statewide SHIBA (free, unbiased Medicare counseling)
- 800-562-6900, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The local SHIBA sponsor for Whitman County is Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington in Spokane (509-625-4801). On October 26, 2026, OIC's local SHIBA directory listed that office as "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." So call the statewide number or Medicare first.
- Medicare
- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), any hour except some federal holidays. Medicare Plan Finder compares 2027 plans with your own drugs and pharmacy.
- Community Living Connections, right in town
- Rural Resources Community Action's Aging and Disability Resource Connection, 1615 NE Eastgate: 509-332-0365, toll-free 1-800-873-5889. They're the local door for aging and disability services in Whitman County.
- Pullman Senior Center
- Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The city says anyone may visit and use the facility at no cost, with no annual membership. The senior activity coordinator is at 509-338-3307. A senior van does home pick-ups Tuesdays and Fridays between 10 and 11 a.m. before the center's meal.
- Pullman Transit Dial-A-Ride
- Door-to-door rides for people at least 65 years old, or anyone who can't ride a regular Pullman Transit bus because of a disability. 509-332-5471. A one-way cash fare is 80 cents; a monthly pass is $24.
- PEBB, if you retired from WSU or another state employer
- HCA lists retiring employees of a state higher-education institution among those who can qualify for PEBB retiree coverage. If your Medicare coverage is through PEBB, OIC says to contact HCA directly. PEBB retiree open enrollment runs October 26 through November 23, 2026. PEBB Benefits Services: 1-800-200-1004, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sources: OIC, Community Living Connections, City of Pullman Senior Center, Pullman Transit Dial-A-Ride, HCA PEBB retiree eligibility, HCA PEBB open enrollment.
Pullman's Medicare population is small and the county leans Original Medicare
Pullman has 33,860 residents (OFM, April 1, 2026), about 69% of Whitman County. It's a university town; Washington State University was founded here in 1892. Only about 2,200 residents are 65 or older, 6.8% of the city on the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey (margin ±204). Even so, that's close to 39% of the county's 65-and-older residents on the same survey.
CMS publishes Medicare enrollment by county, not city. For Whitman County in July 2026 it counted 7,083 beneficiaries, with 2,032 (28.7%) in Medicare Advantage and other health plans and 5,051 (71.3%) in Original Medicare. Statewide, the private-plan share is 49.7%. CMS doesn't publish a Pullman figure, and a county share doesn't make either option the right answer for you; your own doctors and drugs do.
Pullman Regional Hospital, at 835 S Bishop Blvd., is the city's hospital. It's a critical access hospital, which the state Department of Health describes as a small rural hospital with fewer than 25 beds. If you get specialist care outside Pullman, list those doctors too, because network rules apply to them as well.
The rules, briefly
Your plan's coverage stops after December 31, 2026. Pick new coverage by that day and it begins January 1 without a break. You have more time on paper: the special enrollment period for a discontinued plan starts December 8 (Open Enrollment ends the day before) and closes February 28, 2027, with January sign-ups starting February 1 and February sign-ups starting March 1.
Make no choice and you're in Original Medicare on January 1 with Parts A and B only. Drug coverage doesn't follow automatically unless you have Extra Help, in which case CMS puts you in a stand-alone Part D plan. Everyone else should choose a drug plan; a stretch of 63 days or more without creditable coverage can bring a late penalty that stays on your premium for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.
Two things people mix up. First, the January 1 to March 31, 2027 Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period only helps if you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1. Second, Washington's Medigap guaranteed issue right under RCW 48.66.055 only applies if you go to Original Medicare. OIC says to apply on or after November 1, and the right lasts until March 4, 2027. The full list of plan letters is in our statewide discontinued-plan guide.
A short list before you call anyone
- The plan letter and its postmarked envelope (a Medigap insurer can ask for proof).
- Your Medicare card, and any Apple Health or PEBB card.
- Every prescription with dose and frequency, and the pharmacy you use.
- Your doctors in Pullman and anywhere else, including any across the Idaho line in Latah County.
With that in hand, a SHIBA volunteer, Medicare's line or a licensed agent can work through your options more quickly.
Medicare's federal rules and Washington law decide how this works, and the dates in your plan's notice are the ones that bind you; confirm the details with 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent before making a switch.
Pullman questions
My Medicare plan was dropped and I live in Pullman. Where can I get help in person?
Can Pullman Dial-A-Ride take me to a new doctor?
I'm a WSU retiree. Do the same Medicare deadlines apply to me?
Sources
- City of Pullman: Senior Center
- City of Pullman: Dial-A-Ride
- Community Living Connections
- WA DES Whitman County profile
- WA OFM April 1, 2026 population estimates
- Census ACS 2020–2024, table B09020
- CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment, July 2026
- CMS Hospital General Information
- WA DOH: Rural health systems (critical access hospitals)
- Washington OIC: Is your Medicare Advantage plan changing or leaving?
- Washington OIC: Find a local SHIBA office (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- RCW 48.66.055
- CMS CY 2027 MA and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- Medicare.gov: Part D costs
- HCA: PEBB retiree eligibility
- HCA: PEBB retiree open enrollment
- HCA: Contact the PEBB Program
