Medicare Advantage

Do You Have Medicare and Medi-Cal in Riverside?

Riverside County has 88 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 17 plans are not coming back, 14 are new, and 52 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 20 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Riverside, not which plan to pick.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Fall 2026. If you have both Medicare and Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) and live in Riverside, this year's Annual Enrollment Period is a good time to look at Dual Special Needs Plans, or D-SNPs. For 2027, Riverside County has six D-SNPs on the Medicare landscape, offered by five carriers. These plans are built for people who qualify for both programs, and the rules for joining or switching one are more flexible than the standard fall window.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan renews for 2027 if it is still offered, with any changes spelled out in its Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

What is a D-SNP, and who are they for in Riverside County?

A D-SNP is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. In California, Medicaid is called Medi-Cal. These plans coordinate your Medicare benefits, your Medi-Cal benefits, and your Part D drug coverage under one plan, with care teams that are used to working across both programs.

Riverside is in Riverside County, where plan availability is set at the county level. For 2027, 6 of the 88 Medicare Advantage plans in the county are D-SNPs. The county also has 33 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and 2 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs), which serve different groups.

Which D-SNPs are offered in Riverside County for 2027?

Six D-SNPs are offered in Riverside County for 2027, from five carriers. Listed alphabetically by carrier, they are:

• Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP) — Centene (WellCare); renamed for 2027 (previously Wellcare Dual Liberty)
• IEHP DualChoice (HMO D-SNP) — IEHP DualChoice
• Kaiser Permanente Dual Complete South P6 (HMO D-SNP) — Kaiser Permanente
• Molina Medicare Complete Care Plus (HMO D-SNP) — Molina Healthcare of California
• SCAN Connections (HMO D-SNP) — SCAN Health Plan
• SCAN Connections at Home (HMO D-SNP) — SCAN Health Plan

All six include prescription drug coverage. The table below lists every plan with the details. For benefits, provider networks, drug lists, and costs, use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or read each plan's Evidence of Coverage.

Who qualifies as "full" or "partial" dual eligible?

To join any D-SNP you must have Medicare Part A and Part B and some level of Medi-Cal. The level matters because different D-SNPs serve different groups.

• Full dual eligible generally means Medi-Cal pays your Medicare premiums and cost-sharing and covers full Medi-Cal benefits (such as long-term services and supports).
• Partial dual eligible generally means a Medicare Savings Program (such as QMB, SLMB, or QI) helps with Medicare premiums and sometimes cost-sharing, but you may not get full Medi-Cal benefits.

The California Department of Health Care Services and your county Medi-Cal office are the authorities on your eligibility category. Before you pick a plan, confirm your current status with Medi-Cal and with 1-800-MEDICARE so you look at D-SNPs you actually qualify to join.

How often can a dual-eligible person change plans in 2027?

If you have both Medicare and Medi-Cal — or you qualify for Extra Help with Part D — you generally get more chances to change plans than someone who only has Medicare.

• The Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) is open to everyone, with changes starting January 1, 2027.
• The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027) lets anyone already in a Medicare Advantage plan make one change.
• People with Medicaid or Extra Help also get a monthly Special Enrollment Period to join an integrated D-SNP or to leave Medicare Advantage for Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan.

The exact rules on which switches are allowed and how often have been updated by CMS in recent years, so confirm your options with 1-800-MEDICARE or at medicare.gov before you act.

How do I confirm my eligibility and current coverage?

Start with two phone calls. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to confirm your Medicare status, your current plan, and your enrollment opportunities. Then contact Medi-Cal through your county social services office, or call the state's Medi-Cal line, to confirm your eligibility category.

If you want to compare the six D-SNPs in Riverside County side by side, the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your ZIP code, your prescriptions, and your preferred pharmacies, and shows each plan's premium, cost-sharing, drug list, and star rating.

What's changing in Riverside County for 2027?

Across all Medicare Advantage plans in Riverside County, CMS lists 17 plans not returning for 2027, 14 new plans, and 20 renamed plans. One of the D-SNPs — Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty — is a rename of the 2026 Wellcare Dual Liberty plan.

If your plan is changing, your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which arrives by late September, lists what is different for 2027. If your plan is not being offered again, you will get a non-renewal notice and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something new.

A few program-wide 2027 figures are also set. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, are published by CMS later in the fall, usually in November.