Yakima County Medicare Plan Leaving in 2027: What to Do

CMS put Yakima County's Medicare count at 46,979 people in July 2026, and 21,849 of them were in Medicare Advantage and other health plans. That is 46.5%, a little under the statewide rate. If your plan just mailed you a letter saying it won't be back in 2027, here is the short version: the plan keeps paying claims through December 31, 2026. What you have to sort out is January.

Yakima County Medicare, July 2026

Measure	Yakima County	Washington
People with Medicare	46,979	1,586,306
In Medicare Advantage and other health plans	21,849 (46.5%)	49.7%
In Original Medicare	25,130 (53.5%)	50.3%
Dual eligible (Medicare plus Apple Health)	11,112 (23.7%)	15.1%
On Medicare because of a disability	5,241 (11.2%)	8.0%
Part D through a stand-alone drug plan	16,926	503,353
Part D inside a Medicare Advantage plan	21,236	752,773

Source: CMS enrollment file for July 2026; each figure counts people, not plans. Percentages are my math from those counts.

Two rows jump out. First, the dual-eligible line: 23.7% of Medicare enrollees here also have Apple Health, compared with about 15% statewide. Second, the disability line is higher too. Both groups have rules that work differently when a plan leaves, so I spend more of this page on them than a generic article would.

The Part D rows tell you something practical as well. 21,236 people get their drug coverage bundled inside a Medicare Advantage plan. When that kind of plan ends, the drug coverage ends with it. Nobody hands you a replacement drug plan automatically unless you get Extra Help. More on that below.

For scale: OFM counted 265,775 residents in the county on April 1, 2026, and 42,545 residents 65 or older in its 2025 age estimates. Medicare enrollment runs higher than the 65+ count because people under 65 with a disability are on Medicare too.

Nearly one in four has Apple Health as well

If you are one of the 11,112 dual-eligible people in the county, your situation is not the same as your neighbor who only has Medicare. Here is what changes:

Extra Help reassignment. CMS says it reassigns people with Extra Help (the low-income subsidy) from a non-renewing Medicare Advantage plan into a stand-alone Part D plan, unless they already have Part D lined up for next year. That keeps your prescriptions covered, but the plan CMS picks may not list your pharmacy as preferred. Check it when the notice comes.
A monthly change. Medicaid or Extra Help lets you trade one stand-alone drug plan for another each calendar month; the new one begins on the 1st of the following month. That right does not let you hop between Medicare Advantage plans that include drugs.
Integrated plans for full Apple Health. People with full Medicaid benefits may move into an integrated D-SNP in any month, if one serves their area. HCA calls these Apple Health Medicare Connect. HCA says even people whose Apple Health covers only Medicare cost-sharing can enroll.
No late penalty. Medicare does not charge the Part D late enrollment penalty to people who get Extra Help.

Of the dual-eligible group, CMS counts 6,309 as full duals and 4,803 as partial duals. If you aren't sure which you are, your Apple Health award letter or a call to DSHS will tell you. If you have neither and money is tight, look at the Medicare Savings Programs that HCA runs. HCA's page says these programs don't count assets, and you can apply at washingtonconnection.org. Qualifying for one of them also qualifies you for Extra Help automatically.

Three hospital towns along the valley

The county covers about 4,295 square miles of land, from Cascade timber down to orchards and sagebrush. State hospital data (DOH) lists three hospitals inside it:

MultiCare Yakima Valley Memorial in Yakima (acute care)
Astria Toppenish Hospital in Toppenish (acute care)
Astria Sunnyside Hospital in Sunnyside (critical access hospital)

Why it matters: if you are picking another Medicare Advantage plan, the network question is really three questions. Is the hospital nearest you in it? Is the one in Yakima, where many specialists practice, in it? And what about care outside the county? Ask the plan for each by name, and confirm your primary care doctor separately, since a clinic can be in a network even when a particular doctor isn't.

Original Medicare skips that question. Every provider nationwide that accepts Medicare will take it, which matters to people who split time with family in the Tri-Cities or Seattle.

The calendar, kept short

Federal rules are the same in Yakima as in Spokane, so here is just the core. The statewide guide has the full detail.

December 31, 2026 is the last day your current plan covers you. Anything you sign up for by that day takes effect January 1, with no break in coverage.
Your plan's exit also opens a special enrollment period running from December 8, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Sign up in January and coverage begins February 1; sign up in February and it begins March 1.
Do nothing and you land in Original Medicare when the year turns. Hospital and medical coverage (Parts A and B) carry on. Drug coverage does not, unless CMS reassigns you because of Extra Help.
Going 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage can add a Part D penalty that stays on your premium as long as you have Medicare drug coverage. The 2027 base amount it's figured from is $41.33.

If Original Medicare is your choice

People leaving a discontinued plan in Washington get guaranteed issue rights for certain Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies, under RCW 48.66.055 and federal law. Insurers can't turn you down or price you up for health history during that window. If you were first eligible for Medicare before 2020, the list is Plans A through F (including high-deductible F), K or L. First eligible on or after January 1, 2020: A, B, D, G (including high-deductible G), K or L. OIC tells people to apply no earlier than November 1. The right runs out March 4, 2027, and you give it up if you sign up with a different Medicare Advantage plan. Hold on to the plan's notice and the envelope with its postmark; an insurer may ask for them.

The 5,241 people here on Medicare because of a disability should know that Medigap is harder under 65. CMS's Medigap guide doesn't list Washington among the states requiring insurers to sell to beneficiaries under 65, and insurers only have to offer what they sell to new customers. Call SHIBA before you count on a supplement.

Rides to appointments

Switching coverage sometimes means a new clinic farther away. A few options in the county:

People For People runs door-to-door rides with no fare in Yakima County for adults 60 and older, people with disabilities, veterans and low-income households, with at least two business days' notice. Call 509-457-1111. Its Community Connector Route 200 runs between Yakima, Wapato, Toppenish, Zillah, Granger, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser.
Apple Health members can book non-emergency medical trips through the People For People call center at 509-248-6793 or 1-800-233-1624, two business days ahead for local trips.
Yakima Transit Dial-A-Ride serves riders inside Yakima city limits who have a disability that keeps them off the regular buses.

Who to call in Yakima County

OIC's SHIBA listing for Yakima County names Catholic Charities Serving Central Washington (303 E. D Street, Yakima) as the local sponsor. On October 26, 2026 the Yakima entry carried the same note as every other local SHIBA office in Washington: "Currently not accepting appointments. For assistance, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227." So start with:

SHIBA statewide: 800-562-6900, weekdays from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. Free, unbiased counseling run by OIC.
1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays, and Medicare Plan Finder for comparing 2027 options with your own drug list.
Southeast Washington Aging and Long Term Care, the Area Agency on Aging for the county. Its Community Living Connections line in Yakima is 509-469-0500 (toll-free 866-891-2582), and it also lists a Grandview office at 509-402-0334.
DSHS also lists the Yakama Nation Area Agency on Aging in Toppenish.

Your own plan's notices set your dates, and federal Medicare law and Washington law set the rules; run anything you're unsure of past 1-800-MEDICARE, SHIBA or a licensed agent first.

Yakima County questions we hear

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

CMS counted 21,849 people in Medicare Advantage and other health plans in July 2026, out of 46,979 people with Medicare in the county, or 46.5%. Those are counts of people, not plans.

I have Apple Health and Medicare in Yakima. Will I lose my drug coverage?

When a Medicare Advantage plan isn't renewing, CMS moves people with Extra Help into a stand-alone Part D plan, unless they already chose Part D for 2027. You can still pick a different drug plan yourself, and Medicaid or Extra Help also allows one drug-plan change per month.

Which hospitals are in Yakima County?

Washington DOH lists three: MultiCare Yakima Valley Memorial in Yakima, Astria Toppenish Hospital in Toppenish and Astria Sunnyside Hospital in Sunnyside. If you choose another Medicare Advantage plan, ask whether each one you might use is covered in-network for 2027.

Is the local SHIBA office in Yakima taking appointments?

On October 26, 2026, OIC's listing for the Yakima County sponsor carried a note that it wasn't booking appointments and sent callers to 1-800-MEDICARE. The statewide SHIBA line, 800-562-6900, was still listed for weekday calls.

Your Medicare plan is ending in Yakima County. Here is what to do before January.