Medicare Advantage

Hillsborough's 2027 D-SNPs: 35 Plans, 11 Carriers

Hillsborough County has 124 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 20 are new, and 51 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 19 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Tampa, not which plan to pick.

TAMPA, Fla. — For Floridians who have both Medicare and Medicaid, the 2027 plan year brings a slightly larger lineup of Dual Special Needs Plans in Hillsborough County, with new entrants from several carriers and a wave of plan renamings. The Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, and any change made in that window takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Dual-eligible residents in Tampa also have more flexibility than most Medicare beneficiaries: they generally get a monthly chance to change plans outside the fall window, which means there is no need to rush a decision.

What a D-SNP is, in plain terms

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Every D-SNP includes Part D drug coverage, and plans are designed to coordinate the two programs so care, prescriptions and (depending on the plan) some long-term services are handled under one roof.

D-SNPs are only one slice of the local market. For 2027, Hillsborough County has 124 Medicare Advantage plans overall. Of those, 35 are D-SNPs, 28 are Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and 9 are Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs). The table below lists every plan.

Who qualifies: full vs. partial dual eligibility

To join a D-SNP you must have Medicare Parts A and B and be enrolled in Florida Medicaid at some level. The state Medicaid agency — not the insurance company — decides which category you fall into. In general terms:

• Full dual eligibility means Medicaid covers a broad set of benefits beyond helping with Medicare cost-sharing. Some D-SNPs are built specifically for full-benefit members.
• Partial dual eligibility usually means you qualify for a Medicare Savings Program (such as QMB, SLMB or QI) that helps pay Medicare premiums and, in the QMB case, cost-sharing — but you do not get the full Medicaid benefit package. Some D-SNPs are built around these groups, including QMB-only plans.

Plan names often hint at who they are designed for — "Full," "Partial," "QMB," "Integrated" — but the match depends on your current Medicaid status. Call the Florida Department of Children and Families or your Medicaid managed care plan to confirm your category before you enroll.

The 2027 D-SNP lineup in Hillsborough County

Eleven carriers are offering D-SNPs in the county for 2027. Grouped by carrier and listed alphabetically, availability counts are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 3 D-SNPs
• Centene (WellCare) — 3 D-SNPs
• Devoted Health — 3 D-SNPs
• Doctors HealthCare Plans, Inc. — 2 D-SNPs
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 4 D-SNPs
• Florida Complete Care — 1 D-SNP
• HealthSpring — 2 D-SNPs
• Humana — 8 D-SNPs
• Solis Health Plans — 1 D-SNP
• Ultimate Health Plans — 2 D-SNPs
• UnitedHealthcare — 6 D-SNPs

Several plans are new for 2027, including Aetna Medicare Partial Dual Select, Wellcare Sunshine Health Dual Access, Wellcare Sunshine Health Dual Align, DrPartialDual-CFL, Florida Complete Care-Duals VIP, Humana Dual Integrated (PPO D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete FL-Y5. A number of other plans were renamed from 2026 — for example, the Humana "Gold Plus SNP-DE" plans are now the "Humana Dual Select" plans, and several UnitedHealthcare "Dual Complete" plans received new suffixes. The table below has the full list, including each plan's prior name where applicable.

Because D-SNPs vary in what they cover beyond standard Medicare, compare specifics on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or by calling the plan directly.

How often you can change a D-SNP

Dual-eligible beneficiaries have more chances to change plans than most people on Medicare:

• The Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026). Open to everyone with Medicare. Any change takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (Jan. 1 – Mar. 31, 2027). If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you can make one switch — to another Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare with a drug plan.
• A monthly Special Enrollment Period for dual-eligibles and people with Extra Help. Current CMS rules generally allow a once-per-month change to join an integrated D-SNP aligned with your Medicaid plan, or to drop Medicare Advantage and return to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan. The exact mechanics have shifted in recent years, so confirm the current rule with 1-800-MEDICARE before you act.

If you do nothing during the fall window, your current plan simply renews for 2027 — assuming it is still offered — with any changes spelled out in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your insurer mails in September.

How to confirm your eligibility

Three quick steps:

1. Check your Medicaid status with Florida. Log in to your account on MyACCESS at myaccessflorida.com, or call the Florida Department of Children and Families. If you are enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan, that plan can also tell you your category. 2. Check your Medicare record. Create or sign in to your account at medicare.gov to confirm your Parts A and B enrollment and whether you are already in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. 3. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24/7. A representative can confirm the enrollment periods that apply to you and walk through plan comparisons in Hillsborough County.

What else is new for 2027

Program-level figures CMS has already confirmed for next year:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (it is $615 in 2026).
• The Part D national base beneficiary premium is $41.33 for 2027 — a formula input, not what any particular plan charges.

For D-SNP members with full Medicaid, Medicaid typically picks up most Part D cost-sharing, so these caps function as a backstop rather than an out-of-pocket target. CMS announces the 2027 Part B standard premium, deductible and IRMAA brackets later in the fall, usually in November.