Medicare Advantage

Before Oct. 15: how Tigard's county shapes choices

Around Tigard, the number of Medicare Advantage plans a person can pick from depends less on the city line and more on which county they live in. That's why neighbors on opposite sides of a bridge or highway sometimes see very different plan menus during fall enrollment — and why it's worth understanding how the local landscape looks before the Oct. 15 window opens.

Tigard sits in Washington County, and for 2026, Washington County had 59 Medicare Advantage plans available, according to CMS Medicare Plan Finder data. The 2027 lineup is described in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Cross into Multnomah or Clackamas County and the count shifts, because Medicare draws its plan availability lines by county, not by city or ZIP alone.

Why availability is a county story, not a city story

Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are sold by private insurers, but the federal government approves them to operate in specific service areas — usually one or more counties. So when you use medicare.gov's Plan Finder, it asks for your ZIP code and then narrows the list to what's offered in your county.

For Tigard residents, that means Washington County's plan landscape is the one that matters. If you're helping a parent in Beaverton (also Washington County), the menu will look the same. If you're helping a sibling in Gresham (Multnomah County) or Oregon City (Clackamas County), the choices — and the carriers — will not match up one-to-one.

What the Washington County snapshot looks like

For 2026, Washington County has:

• 59 Medicare Advantage plans available
• 13 carriers offering Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans
• A local population of roughly 89,208 people age 65 and older

Stand-alone Part D drug plans are counted separately from Medicare Advantage. Anyone who wants drug coverage without switching to Medicare Advantage — for example, someone staying with Original Medicare and a Medigap policy — would look at the stand-alone Part D list, which is published on medicare.gov each year.

Comparing across the metro

If you live in Tigard but work, get care, or have family across county lines, it can be helpful to run Plan Finder for more than one ZIP code. A few things to keep in mind when comparing:

• Plan counts alone don't tell you quality or fit. A county with more plans isn't automatically "better" — it just has more options to sort through.
• Provider networks vary. A plan available in both Washington and Multnomah counties may still use different hospital and clinic networks in each area.
• Star Ratings are published by CMS and describe plan performance. They're a research tool, not a scoreboard, and they should be one factor among several.

Key rules that apply everywhere

Some of the biggest Medicare changes are set at the federal level and apply the same way in Tigard as they do anywhere else. A few figures shift between 2026 and 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The old coverage gap, or "donut hole," was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges — extra premium amounts for higher-income beneficiaries — start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Dates to circle

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

Where to get personal help

Plan availability counts are a starting point — not a decision. For personalized answers, Oregon has a free State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), called SHIBA, staffed by trained counselors who don't sell insurance. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7, or use the official Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see what's offered at your specific address.