Kaiser Medicare notices spark panic in WA. Here’s what to know

SEATTLE — Last week, people in Washington who get their Medicare Advantage coverage through Kaiser Permanente received a seemingly worrisome letter in the mail.

Your Medicare plan won’t be offered in 2026,” it warned. “This means your coverage through Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington will end December 31, 2025.” (The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington is one of Kaiser Permanente’s insurance providers in the state.)

More than 130,000 people across 15 counties in Washington get Medicare Advantage coverage through Kaiser, according to the nonprofit insurance network.

Seattle resident Jerry Stanton, 77, is one of them.

“I was stunned,” he said. Stanton and his wife have been enrolled in Medicare through Kaiser 2019. “The care has been excellent.”

Based on the notice’s