Medicare Advantage

Fallon Medicare 2026: 20 Plan Options in Churchill County

FALLON, Nev. — If you're sorting through Medicare choices in Fallon this fall, here's the short version: you have a lot to look at. Fallon sits in Churchill County, where 20 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plan landscape data. That gives the county's roughly 5,200 residents age 65 and older a wide field to compare during this year's Annual Enrollment Period.

The point of this article isn't to tell you which plan to pick — that depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, and your budget. It's to help you understand how many Medicare paths are actually on the table in your county, and where to go for trustworthy answers.

What's available in Churchill County for 2026

Here's the availability snapshot for the county, based on CMS data:

• 20 Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Churchill County for 2026.
• 6 carriers offer Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD) in the area.
• 0 stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans are listed in the county landscape file for this area. (Stand-alone Part D availability is generally set at a broader regional level, so if you want drug coverage without joining an Advantage plan, check medicare.gov's Plan Finder for the plans that serve your ZIP code.)
• 0 contracts serving the area currently carry an overall Star Rating of 4 stars or higher.

These are area-level counts, not a scorecard. A "plan" and a "carrier" aren't the same thing — one insurance company usually offers several plans, each with different rules, networks, and drug lists.

A quick refresher on the "parts" of Medicare

It helps to know what you're actually choosing between:

• Part A covers hospital stays. Most people pay no premium for it.
• Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care. It has a monthly premium set by the federal government.
• Part C (Medicare Advantage) is an all-in-one alternative offered by private insurers approved by Medicare. Most Advantage plans include drug coverage.
• Part D is prescription drug coverage, either bundled inside a Medicare Advantage plan (MA-PD) or bought as a stand-alone plan alongside Original Medicare.
• Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies work with Original Medicare to help cover out-of-pocket costs. These are separate from Advantage plans.

The 20 plans available in Churchill County are Medicare Advantage plans. Medigap policies are sold separately and aren't counted in that number.

What's actually new for 2026

A few program-wide changes are worth knowing before you compare:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits $2,100 in 2026, you pay $0 for covered prescriptions the rest of the year.
• Part D deductible: up to $615. That's the maximum a Part D plan can charge as a yearly drug deductible.
• No more "donut hole." The old coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. This optional program lets you spread your yearly drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. You have to opt in.
• IRMAA. Higher-income beneficiaries pay extra for Part B and Part D. For 2026, the surcharge kicks in above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

What Star Ratings mean (and don't mean)

Every year, CMS rates Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, based on things like customer service, member complaints, and how well plans manage chronic conditions. In the current data, no contracts serving Churchill County carry an overall rating of 4 stars or higher.

That doesn't mean plans in the area are bad — ratings shift year to year, some contracts aren't rated because they're too new, and a plan that's a great fit for your neighbor may not fit you. Use star ratings as one piece of information, not the whole decision.

Key dates to circle

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

Missing these windows usually means waiting a full year, so mark your calendar.