Medicare in Wyoming: Plans and Coverage (2026)

Medicare in Wyoming follows federal rules, but the state adds free WSHIIP counseling through the Department of Health and its own WDH Medicaid process for the Medicare Savings Programs. This guide covers every part of Medicare for Wyoming residents in 2026: what it costs, what plans exist, and how to get help paying.1,2

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Original Medicare: Parts A and B
• Medicare Advantage in Wyoming (Part C)
• Medicare Part D: Prescription Drugs
• Medigap in Wyoming
• Help Paying for Medicare in Wyoming
• Medicare Enrollment Periods
• Free Medicare Help: Wyoming WSHIIP
• Frequently Asked Questions

About these numbers: The premiums and deductibles below come from CMS for calendar year 2026, effective January 1.3 Medicare costs change every year, and each year's figures are published on medicare.gov. To reach a person about your own coverage, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays; TTY users call 1-877-486-2048.5 A Wyoming WSHIIP counselor at 1-800-856-4398 can walk you through what they mean for you, free.1

Original Medicare: Parts A and B

Original Medicare is run directly by the federal government and has two parts. The mechanics and costs are identical in Wyoming and every other state.

Part A (Hospital Insurance)

Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, limited skilled nursing facility care, hospice, and some home health care.3

The hospital deductible rose $60 from 2025, to $1,736 per benefit period.3 A benefit period starts the day you're admitted and ends once you've gone 60 days in a row without inpatient hospital care or skilled care in a SNF. Get readmitted after that and the deductible applies again.

Part B (Medical Insurance)

Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient care, preventive services, durable medical equipment, and mental health care. Part B doesn't cover routine dental, vision, or hearing.6 Most Medicare Advantage plans offer routine dental, vision, and hearing benefits instead, so check what a specific plan actually covers before you count on it.7

• Monthly premium: $202.90 (higher if your 2024 income was above $109,000 single or $218,000 married, under the income-related adjustment)3
• Annual deductible: $2833
• After the deductible: you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for most services3

Part B is technically optional, but nearly everyone signs up. Delay past your enrollment window without qualifying for a Special Enrollment Period or a Medicare Savings Program and you'll owe a late penalty of 10% for every 12 months you could have had it, for as long as you keep Part B.8

Medicare Advantage in Wyoming (Part C)

Medicare Advantage plans are an alternative to Original Medicare, sold by private insurers. They cover everything Parts A and B do, except hospice, which Original Medicare keeps covering. Most bundle in Part D drug coverage along with extras like dental, vision, and hearing.7

Wyoming is one of the least-densely-populated states, and Medicare Advantage reflects that. Cheyenne and Casper see a modest selection of plans, but many rural counties across the state have very few options, and some may have none at all. Plan options, networks, and prices change every year and differ by county, so check what's available at your specific address before you decide.

How These Plans Work

• You keep paying your Part B premium ($202.90) on top of any plan premium, though CMS says some plans may help pay all or part of it. The CMS estimate for the average Medicare Advantage premium in 2026 is about $14 a month, and many plans charge $0 extra.3,7
• Plans run on networks (HMO or PPO). Confirm your doctors and hospitals are in-network before you enroll. Emergency care, out-of-area urgent care, and temporary out-of-area dialysis are covered whether you get them in or out of the plan's network.7
• Plans usually require prior authorization for certain services, which Original Medicare generally does not.7
• Every plan caps your annual in-network out-of-pocket spending (federally limited to $9,250 in 2026; many plans set it lower). Original Medicare has no such cap. CMS puts it this way: there is no yearly limit on what you pay out of pocket unless you have supplemental coverage like Medigap, Medicaid, employer, retiree, or union coverage. With none of those, your exposure is open-ended.7

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to compare plans by ZIP code. Enter your doctors and prescriptions and it shows which plans cover them and your estimated cost. A Wyoming WSHIIP counselor can help you read the results for free.

Medicare Part D: Prescription Drugs

Part D covers outpatient prescription drugs. You can get it as a standalone plan paired with Original Medicare, or built into a Medicare Advantage plan.

The Inflation Reduction Act eliminated the old coverage gap, so that higher-cost middle stage is gone.4 Part D now moves through three phases:

1. Deductible: you pay full price until you meet your plan's deductible (up to $615 in 2026).9
2. Initial coverage: you pay copays or coinsurance while your plan and drug makers cover the rest.
3. Catastrophic: once your out-of-pocket spending reaches $2,100, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.4

That $2,100 cap is the number that matters most in Part D. It was $2,000 in 2025 and rises with drug-spending growth. The average standalone Part D premium for 2026 is about $34.50 a month, though actual plan premiums vary widely.3 Every plan also has to offer the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs into capped monthly payments across the year instead of paying in full at the pharmacy.4 People who qualify for Extra Help often pay much less, sometimes nothing.

For a deeper look at how the redesigned Part D benefit works, see our guide to Medicare Part D drug coverage.

Medigap in Wyoming

Medigap is extra insurance you buy from a private health insurance company to help pay your share of out-of-pocket costs in Original Medicare. It works only with Original Medicare: you can't use Medigap to pay Medicare Advantage Plan copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, or premiums, and while you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan it's illegal for anyone to sell you a Medigap policy unless you're switching back to Original Medicare.10

Medigap plans are standardized by letter. Medicare's 2026 Choosing a Medigap Policy guide charts Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N, and every insurance company that sells Medigap must offer at least Plan A. Plans C and F aren't available to people new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, meaning people who turned 65 and got Part A on or after that date; those people have the right to buy Plans D and G instead, which give the same benefits without covering the Part B deductible.11 Plan G covers the same benefits as Plan F except the annual Part B deductible: it pays the Part A deductible, Part A coinsurance and hospital costs up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used, skilled nursing facility coinsurance, and Part B excess charges.11

Your strongest opening is the federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period, the six months that begin when you're 65 and enrolled in Part B. During that window an insurance company can't refuse to sell you any of the Medigap policies it offers, and can't charge you more because you have health problems.11 Outside it, an insurer is allowed to deny you a policy if you don't meet its medical underwriting requirements.12

Wyoming adds a birthday window for people who already have a policy. Under the Wyoming Department of Insurance's Chapter 35 rule text as proposed, a Medigap policyholder has a guaranteed issue right that begins on their birthday and ends 63 days later, covering any comparable or lesser Medicare Supplement policy from any issuer.11 The birthday right is not an upgrade path: a policy counts as comparable or lesser unless it contains one or more significant benefits not in the policy being replaced, and the Department says a consumer who wants better coverage than the plan they first chose will still need medical underwriting.11 Brevy's guide to Wyoming's Medigap birthday rule walks through the proposed rule text and what to confirm before you apply.

If you're under 65 and on Medicare, federal law generally doesn't require insurance companies to sell you a Medigap policy, and Wyoming is not on the list of states that Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide prints as requiring insurers to offer at least one kind of Medigap policy to people with Medicare under 65. Some insurers may still sell to people under 65 voluntarily, though those policies will probably cost more and use medical underwriting, and if you already have Part B you'll still get a Medigap Open Enrollment Period when you turn 65.11

Medigap or Medicare Advantage?

You can't run the two together, because Medigap can't pay a Medicare Advantage Plan's copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, or premiums. If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan for the first time and aren't happy with it, a federal trial right lets you buy a Medigap policy and a separate Medicare drug plan if you return to Original Medicare within 12 months of joining. In most cases, though, if you drop a Medigap policy to join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you may not be able to get the same policy back.10 For a side-by-side look, see our guide to Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage.

Help Paying for Medicare in Wyoming

If you're on a fixed income, two programs can cut your Medicare costs sharply.

Medicare Savings Programs

Wyoming administers its Medicare Savings Programs through Wyoming Department of Health Medicaid. Wyoming's own rules set each tier as a share of the federal poverty level and test countable income, not your gross pay: QMB at or below 100% of poverty, SLMB from 101% to 120%, QI from 121% to 135%. The state prints its operative dollar standards in Medicaid Table 1, effective April 1, 2026; the figures below are the 2026 federal baseline medicare.gov publishes for those same tiers.2

QMB is the most generous, covering your Part B premium plus your deductibles and coinsurance, and federal law bars providers from billing a QMB enrollee for that cost-sharing.13 For all three programs the 2026 resource limit is $9,950 for one person and $14,910 for a couple, the federal standard; Wyoming's own rule sets its limit at three times the SSI resource limit, adjusted annually by the increase in the consumer price index, and points eligibility workers to Medicaid Table 7 for the operative dollar amount. The income figures rise each year with the poverty level.2 These are federal standards rather than absolute cutoffs, because states can disregard income and resources on top of them, so apply if you are anywhere close. QI also has to be reapplied for every year; being approved one year does not carry you into the next.13 You apply through the Wyoming Department of Health: online at wesystem.wyo.gov, or by phone to the WDH Customer Service Center at 855-294-2127.2 WSHIIP counselors (1-800-856-4398) offer free Medicare counseling.1 Enrolling in QMB, SLMB, or QI automatically qualifies you for Extra Help with Part D; QDWI, the fourth savings program, does not.13

Extra Help for Part D

Extra Help, also called the Low-Income Subsidy, pays Part D premiums, deductibles, and copays for people with limited income and resources.14 Since 2024 the partial-subsidy tier is gone, so everyone who qualifies now gets the full subsidy.

• Income limit (2026): up to about $1,995 a month for an individual, $2,705 for a couple, the figures for the 48 contiguous states and DC (Alaska and Hawaii are higher)14
• Resource limits: $16,590 for an individual, $33,100 for a married couple, or $18,090 and $36,100 if you tell SSA you expect to use some of your resources for burial expenses14
• If you qualify for QMB, SLMB, or QI, you're enrolled in Extra Help automatically13

Apply through Social Security at ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/prescriptionhelp.html or call 1-800-772-1213.14 Extra Help isn't available in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa, where residents apply through their local Medicaid office instead.14

Medicare Enrollment Periods

Miss a deadline and you can face coverage gaps or permanent penalties. These dates are federal and the same in Wyoming as everywhere else.15,12

Changes you make during Annual Open Enrollment take effect the following January 1. If you're already getting Social Security before 65, you're enrolled in Parts A and B automatically; if not, you sign up yourself through Social Security.15 If you're still working past 65 with group health coverage based on that current employment, you can delay Part B without penalty and use an eight-month Special Enrollment Period to sign up, counted from the month that job or coverage ends, whichever comes first; miss that window and you wait for the General Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) and may owe a late penalty. COBRA and retiree coverage do not count as coverage based on current employment, and if you're self-employed or your plan isn't available to everyone at the company, ask your insurer whether it qualifies before you delay; if it doesn't, sign up at 65. This Special Enrollment Period does not apply if you're eligible for Medicare based on End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).16

Free Medicare Help: Wyoming WSHIIP

You don't have to figure this out alone, and you don't have to pay a broker. Wyoming runs the Wyoming State Health Insurance Information Program (WSHIIP), administered through the Wyoming Department of Health. Counselors are trained volunteers who give free, unbiased help and don't sell insurance.1

A Wyoming WSHIIP counselor can help you:

• Understand your Medicare options and what each part covers
• Compare Medicare Advantage, Part D, and Medigap plans side by side
• Apply for Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help
• Sort out claims, denials, and appeals

Call 1-800-856-4398 to find local WSHIIP counseling in your county.1

Key Wyoming Medicare Contacts

Learn More

Find personalized help with Medicare in Wyoming at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.