Medicare by region · San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, the Peninsula & the North Bay
UCSF, Stanford, Sutter, John Muir and Kaiser’s home turf — nine counties, the highest Medigap premiums in the state, and the biggest Kaiser share anywhere.
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Medicare in the region
The Bay Area Medicare decision usually starts with Kaiser: stay in, or come out. Staying in means Senior Advantage; coming out means Original Medicare with a Medigap policy for UCSF, Stanford and Sutter without a network, or a non-Kaiser Advantage plan built on one of those systems. Stanford and UCSF both contract selectively with Advantage plans.
The North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Napa) and Solano have shorter menus and their own anchors: MarinHealth, Sutter Santa Rosa and Providence Santa Rosa Memorial, Queen of the Valley, and NorthBay and Kaiser in Solano, where Travis Air Force Base adds a large TRICARE For Life community.
What to watch: the Bay Area is Kaiser country — in several counties Senior Advantage is the single largest Medicare plan by a wide margin. Outside Kaiser, the Advantage menu is thinner than Southern California’s and built on Sutter, John Muir, Stanford and UCSF contracts that change yearly; Anthem’s 2026 PPO exit removed one of the few broad-network options. Medigap premiums here run among the highest in the state, which makes the annual birthday-rule re-shop worth real money.
Counties: San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano.
Each contracts differently with each plan; we check your doctors first.
Turning 65? Your Initial Enrollment Period is the 7 months around your birthday. Already on Medicare? The Annual Election Period is Oct 15–Dec 7, Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs Jan 1–Mar 31, and California’s Medigap birthday rule gives you 60 days from your birthday each year to switch supplements without health questions.
Your options
All-in-one Part C plans, often $0 premium, built on a county network — the choice of about half of California, and the one that changed most for 2026.
How Advantage worksMedigap pairs with Original Medicare and works with any provider nationwide — UCLA, Stanford, Cedars, City of Hope, or your doctor in Arizona — with California’s birthday rule to switch every year.
How Medigap worksStandalone drug coverage chosen around your medications and pharmacy. 2026 out-of-pocket cap: $2,100.
How Part D worksSenior Advantage is its own world: everything in one system, and no Medigap route in. When it fits, and when it doesn’t.
Kaiser & MedicareQuestions from the Bay Area
Kaiser Senior Advantage plus a moderate non-Kaiser Advantage menu that varies by county, Medi-Medi Plans in the larger counties, every Medigap carrier in California and the full Part D lineup. Availability changes each plan year.
Each system contracts with some Medicare Advantage plans and not others, and the lists change every October. With Original Medicare and a Medigap policy there is no network to check, except Kaiser, which is reached only through Kaiser Senior Advantage. We confirm your doctors before you enroll.
Nothing. Independent agents are paid by the carriers when you enroll, so comparing plans and reviewing your coverage each year is free to you.
Ready when you are
A short, friendly conversation — no pressure, no cost.
Written and reviewed by Darin Weidauer — licensed insurance agent (NPN 18580338, CA License #0M00978), Gerontologist (USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology), MBA, Registered Social Security Analyst, and 22-year U.S. Air Force veteran.Last reviewed September 4, 2026. Plan availability, benefits and costs change every plan year — verify current details at Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or California HICAP at 1-800-434-0222.