Medicare in Lake County
Lake County’s county seat is Crown Point, and the county includes communities such as Gary, Hammond, Munster, Hobart, Dyer and East Chicago. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 population estimates, about 91,656 people in Lake County are age 65 or older, so Medicare decisions touch a large share of local households.
The Indiana Department of Health hospital directory lists facilities in Lake County including Franciscan Health Crown Point, Franciscan Health Dyer, Franciscan Health Munster, Community Hospital in Munster, Methodist Hospitals in Gary, St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and UChicago Medicine Northwest Indiana in Crown Point. Which of these your plan includes depends on the plan you choose.
Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability and provider networks are set county by county, so we start with your ZIP code and your doctors and check what you can actually enroll in. We are based in Tysons, Virginia, and help Lake County residents by phone or video call.
Lake County Medicare at a glance
| Lake County | Indiana | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents age 65 and older | 91,656 | 1,179,148 statewide |
| Share of residents age 65+ | 18.3% | 17.2% statewide |
| People with Medicare | 106,263 | 1,432,708 statewide |
| Enrolled in Medicare Advantage | 49,344 | 731,624 statewide |
| Medicare Advantage share | 46.4% | 51.1% statewide |
Data: U.S. Census Bureau (2023 population estimates); CMS, September 2026. Medicare Advantage share is enrollees divided by people with Medicare.
Lake County ranks 2nd of 92 Indiana counties by number of residents age 65 and older, with about 91,656 people in that age group, or 18.3% of residents (statewide: 17.2%). The 32,982 residents now between 60 and 64 will become Medicare-eligible soon, and our turning 65 guide walks through it. Among residents 65 and older, 60% are 65 to 74, 30% are 75 to 84 and 10% are 85 or older (Census 2023 estimates). CMS data show 46.4% of Lake County residents with Medicare chose Medicare Advantage, which is close to the 51.1% average across Indiana. Averages cannot choose a plan for you. Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare with a Medigap plan each suit different people, depending on doctors, medicines and how you prefer to handle costs, and we compare both at your ZIP code.
Who has Medicare in Lake County
Lake County sits in a metro area, which the USDA defines as counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more. That usually means more doctors, more hospitals and more plan choices in the area.
CMS counts 104,405 Medicare beneficiaries in Lake County (2023). Their average age is 72, about the same as the Indiana average of 72. About 17% are “dual eligible,” meaning they have both Medicare and Medicaid, close to the state figure of 16%.
Among people in Original Medicare in Lake County, CMS reported about 621 emergency room visits and 272 inpatient hospital stays per 1,000 beneficiaries in 2023, which is close to the state average for emergency visits (619) and higher than it for hospital stays (235). About 9% received home health care. These figures describe how people use care under Original Medicare; they do not show what any plan covers or costs.
Sources: CMS Medicare Geographic Variation, 2023; USDA Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023.
Lake County: communities and ZIP codes
People in Lake County live in communities such as Hammond (76,193), Gary (67,652), Merrillville (36,347), Crown Point (34,884), Schererville (29,657), Hobart (29,408) (2023 population estimates, counting only the part of each community that lies inside the county).
We look up plans by ZIP code. In Lake County, that means areas such as 46303, 46307, 46311, 46312, 46319, 46320, 46321, 46322, 46323, 46324, 46327, 46342, 46356, 46373 and 13 more, based on Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas that lie mostly in the county.
Questions about Medicare in Lake County?
Reach out to us: fill out our short form or call (571) 354-0146, and a licensed agent will compare the plans available to you, check your doctors and drugs, and stay with you each year at renewal. For general Medicare information, the federal helpline is 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Medicare resources from official sources
- Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov, searchable by ZIP code.
- Social Security: Medicare to enroll or check status.
- Medicare.gov: Medigap on how Medicare Supplement works.
- HealthCare.gov if you are not yet on Medicare.
- Indiana Department of Insurance: Indiana’s insurance regulator, including agent license lookup.
Coverage we offer Lake County residents
Here is what we can help Lake County residents with, drawing on plans from many insurers: annuities, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement (Medigap), Part D drug plans, ACA health insurance, ICHRA, group health insurance, life insurance and final expense insurance.
Let’s check your Lake County options together
We’ll confirm your doctors and prescriptions before you enroll. Our help is free to you.
Get my plan comparisonPlain-English Medicare answers
- How to read your Medicare Annual Notice of Change
- Does Medicare cover dental, vision and hearing?
- Why a Medicare Advantage plan drops a doctor or drug
- Medicare Parts A, B, C and D explained
Lake County compared with similar Indiana counties
| County | Residents 65+ | Medicare Advantage share | Dual eligible share | Area type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen County | 63,254 | 64.5% | 21% | Metro |
| Hamilton County | 53,693 | 42.7% | 8% | Metro |
| Marion County | 131,576 | 58.3% | 23% | Metro |
| St. Joseph County | 47,027 | 55.5% | 15% | Metro |
| Vanderburgh County | 33,660 | 47.7% | 15% | Metro |
| Porter County | 33,101 | 39.9% | 12% | Metro |
See every Indiana county in our Indiana directory or go to our Indiana Medicare hub.