Why this Medicare enrollment is so unsettled
Annual Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Choices made then start January 1, 2027. In Oregon and Washington, a large share of people will not be able to keep the plan, or the hospital, they had in 2026. We closed to new Medicare clients this season so we can keep serving the clients we already have. Anyone can use what follows to get ready.
Providence Health Plan is leaving most of its insurance business for 2027, including every Medicare Advantage plan. A sale of that business to a national insurer was supposed to keep the Medicare plans going. That deal fell through. More than 64,000 members in Oregon, Washington, and California have to find new coverage for 2027.
Current members stay covered for the rest of 2026. People with both the Oregon Health Plan and a Providence Medicare Advantage plan move to CareOregon Advantage Plus on January 1, 2027, unless they pick something else during Annual Enrollment. Providence has not given Medicare Supplement members a final 2027 decision. Those members should watch the mail.
PacificSource is pulling its Medicare Advantage plans out of the Portland metro area. Anyone in Clackamas, Multnomah, or Washington County needs a new plan for 2027.
PacificSource is still selling Medicare Advantage in Central Oregon. A widely used plan there is not coming back. More than 14,000 people in Deschutes County are in a plan that is ending or changing.
UnitedHealthcare is reducing service areas and discontinuing some Medicare Advantage plans on January 1, 2027. Affected members got a non-renewal notice dated October 2, 2026. In some counties a plan is replaced by another UnitedHealthcare plan. In others the plan is gone. The letter from the plan tells you which one applies to you.
Providence hospitals and doctors in Oregon and Washington leave UnitedHealthcare’s network on January 1, 2027 for individual Medicare Advantage, group retiree, and chronic-condition special-needs plans. Washington dual-eligible special-needs plans and Medicare Supplement plans keep Providence. Employer commercial plans were renewed. Someone can keep a UnitedHealthcare plan and still lose Providence, Swedish, or Kadlec.
HealthSpring is leaving Multnomah and Washington counties. Wellcare is leaving Clackamas County. Jackson and Josephine counties are dropping from 20 regular Medicare Advantage plans to five as UnitedHealthcare, Regence, and Wellcare leave southern Oregon. OHSU is leaving Regence Medicare Advantage networks.
A plan can renew and still be a poor fit if the hospital or medical group dropped out. Ask the office that treats you which 2027 Medicare plans it will accept. Do that before you assume the plan that kept your doctors this year will keep them on January 1.
What to do with this, even if we cannot take a new client
- Read the letter from your plan. A non-renewal notice means the plan is ending where you live. An Annual Notice of Change means the plan continues and the benefits, premium, or drug list are changing.
- Write down the doctors, the hospital, the pharmacy, and every prescription. Those four lists decide whether a 2027 plan actually works.
- Compare plans for your county on Medicare.gov during Annual Enrollment, October 15 through December 7, 2026. A choice in that window starts January 1.
- If the plan is ending and nobody is moving you into a replacement, doing nothing generally puts you back on Original Medicare on January 1, without drug coverage. The notice explains whether you also have until the end of February 2027. That extra time does not apply when the company is simply moving you into another one of its plans.
- Free counseling is available from Oregon SHIBA at 800-722-4134 and Washington SHIBA at 800-562-6900.
Existing clients can call (503) 966-2345 or email support@lorinye.com to get onto Lori’s schedule. New Medicare clients are closed this season. Contact Nye Insurance.