Laurel Jolliffe, owner-manager of Life Matters Insurance and Financial Solutions, told meeting attendees that multiple Medicare Advantage plans serving Calaveras County will end coverage for 2026, leaving Humana as the only remaining carrier and affecting “over 500 people in our county alone, just Calaveras, are losing their health insurance,” she said.

Jolliffe, who said she has served the Northern California foothills for more than 17 years, explained differences between original Medicare with a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy and Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, and described enrollment consequences for people whose Advantage plans terminate. “They can go away,” she said, describing Advantage plans’ ability to change benefits, networks and premiums from year to year.

Why it matters: Jolliffe said residents who lose a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan are generally guaranteed the right to buy a Medigap supplement without medical underwriting but must meet several enrollment timing requirements for drug coverage and supplement effectiveness. She advised doing plan research early and using medicare.gov’s “Find Plans” tool to compare drug costs, networks and premiums before deadlines.

Details and guidance from Jolliffe

- Advantage-plan reductions: Jolliffe said that in 2025 local beneficiaries had three MA PPOs available (Humana, Aetna and Anthem Blue Cross) and that for 2026 only Humana will remain in the county. She characterized the change as part of a larger nationwide pullback of some MA carriers.

- Guaranteed-issue and timing: She said people whose MA plans are terminated have an extended guaranteed-issue right to purchase a Medigap supplement (Medicare Supplement) but must also enroll in a standalone prescription drug plan (Part D) to match an effective Jan. 1 supplement. She described a common timing sequence: pick a January 1 effective date for coverage, enroll in a drug plan by Dec. 7 to secure that January 1 start, and complete the supplement enrollment (she said beneficiaries have until Feb. 1 to finalize a supplement for a Jan. 1 effective date). She advised residents to complete selection well before Dec. 7 because medicare.gov is heavily used and may be slow.

- Costs and deductibles: Jolliffe gave examples of rising prescription-plan costs and said that some enrollees have seen monthly drug-plan premiums increase substantially. She told one attendee that a short-term expense the person feared as “$300 a month” was actually subject to an annual deductible (she stated $590 in the current year) that once met would change the out-of-pocket cost for the drug.

- Differences between plan types: Jolliffe summarized commonly cited pros and cons: Medigap plans (left side of the page) generally let beneficiaries see any doctor who accepts Medicare and do not require referrals; they tend to be more expensive and their premiums can rise with age and annual adjustments. Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) often have lower or $0 premiums and can include dental, vision and hearing benefits, but benefits, networks, copays and prices can change or be discontinued. She also said that Advantage plans make utilization decisions internally, which some providers dislike because approvals for procedures can depend on the insurer rather than Medicare.

- Enrollment help and limits for brokers: Jolliffe said changes to broker compensation have limited agents’ ability to submit applications for certain 2026 plans; she said she can still help clients identify plans and direct them to the carrier website or phone lines (for example, HealthSpring or WellCare) but that many agents will not submit applications because of compensation and errors-and-omissions restrictions.

Resources and contact information

Jolliffe recommended that residents use medicare.gov to run prescription comparisons and verify plan prices at pharmacies (she suggested checking Safeway, CVS, Walmart and mail order). She said some online or nontraditional pharmacies (for example, a private “cost-plus” pharmacy noted by media coverage) do not report prices to medicare.gov, so their pricing is not visible on that tool.

She offered to assist county residents who are losing a plan and provided a business phone number: (209) 786-2021.

No formal action was taken during the remarks; the record shows a resident Q&A interspersed with the presentation.