Medicare 2026

SHIP and Licensed Agents for Medicare in Walnut Creek

Choosing a Medicare plan can feel like a maze, especially when your mailbox fills up with brochures every fall. If you live in Walnut Creek, you don't have to sort through it alone — and you don't have to pay someone to help you understand your options. Free, unbiased counseling is available through California's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), and licensed agents can walk you through specific plans at no cost to you.

Start with HICAP — California's SHIP

Every state has a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) funded by the federal government to give free, one-on-one Medicare help. In California, it's called HICAP — the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program.

HICAP counselors are trained volunteers and staff who do not sell insurance and do not earn commissions. That means they have no reason to steer you toward one plan over another. They can help you:

• Understand Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Part D, and Medigap.
• Compare plans side by side using Medicare's official Plan Finder.
• Review a plan you already have to see if it still fits.
• Screen for programs that help with premiums or drug costs, like Extra Help or a Medicare Savings Program.
• Sort out billing problems or appeals.

Contra Costa County residents, including those in Walnut Creek, are served by the local HICAP office. You can reach California HICAP statewide at 1-800-434-0222, and they'll route you to the counselor nearest you. Appointments are usually free and can be done by phone or in person.

When a licensed agent makes sense

Licensed insurance agents and brokers are another option. They're paid by the insurance companies whose plans they sell, not by you, so their help is also free at the point of service. A good agent can:

• Explain the differences between the specific plans they're appointed to sell.
• Handle enrollment paperwork.
• Stay in touch year to year as your needs change.

The trade-off: an agent can only quote plans from the carriers they contract with. If they only work with two insurers, you're only seeing two insurers' options. That's why many people start with HICAP to get the full landscape, then talk to an agent once they've narrowed things down.

Before you meet with any agent, ask which carriers they represent, whether they're independent or captive, and confirm they're licensed in California. You can verify a license through the California Department of Insurance.

What's available in Contra Costa County

Walnut Creek is in Contra Costa County, where CMS landscape data showed 11 Medicare Advantage plans offered for 2026, from 6 different carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). There were no stand-alone Part D plans listed at the county level in the 2026 landscape data, which is worth asking a HICAP counselor about if you're on Original Medicare and need drug coverage. The 2027 lineup is published in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

The county is home to nearly 200,000 residents age 65 or older, so demand for good, honest guidance is high — book counseling appointments early, especially between October and December.

Key numbers to know for 2027

Whether you meet with a HICAP counselor or an agent, these program-wide facts will shape the conversation:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your drug spending hits that, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D deductible: up to $615 in 2026 and up to $700 in 2027, depending on the plan.
• Coverage gap ("donut hole"): eliminated as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments.
• IRMAA: higher-income surcharges on Part B and Part D start above $109,000 for single filers in 2026.

Mark these enrollment windows

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare.

Outside these windows, you generally need a Special Enrollment Period — another good reason to talk with HICAP if your situation changes.

Watch for red flags

Unbiased help should never feel like a sales pitch. Under CMS rules, agents cannot show up at your door uninvited, cold-call you, or offer gifts to enroll. Be cautious if someone:

• Pressures you to sign the same day.
• Asks for your Medicare number before you've agreed to work with them.
• Claims to be "from Medicare" — Medicare doesn't send sales reps.

If something feels off, hang up and call HICAP or 1-800-MEDICARE.