Medicare Advantage

Medicare and Medicaid in Indianapolis: your 2027 D-SNP options and how often you can switch

For 2027, Indianapolis is looking at 79 Medicare Advantage plans: 15 new, 14 gone since 2026, and 29 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 7 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Marion County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

INDIANAPOLIS — Fall 2026. If you have both Medicare and Indiana Medicaid, you have a type of Medicare Advantage plan built just for you: a Dual Special Needs Plan, or D-SNP. For 2027, Marion County residents will have 12 D-SNPs to choose from, offered by three carriers — Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana and UnitedHealthcare. One of those plans is new for next year, and three UnitedHealthcare plans are returning under new names.

Here is what to know before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7, 2026, and why dual-eligible readers have more flexibility than most people to change their minds later.

What a D-SNP is, in plain words

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a Medicare Advantage plan designed for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Every D-SNP includes Part D drug coverage and coordinates in some way with your Medicaid benefits. The goal is to make the two programs feel more like one.

D-SNPs are different from the other Special Needs Plans you may see on the Medicare Plan Finder. In Marion County for 2027, there are also 13 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs, for people with certain health conditions) and 9 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs, generally for people living in nursing homes). Those are not the same as D-SNPs and have different rules.

Who qualifies: full vs. partial dual eligibility

"Dual eligible" is an umbrella term. Indiana Medicaid decides which category you fall into, based mostly on income and resources:

• Full dual eligible — You get full Medicaid benefits in addition to Medicare. Medicaid helps with your Medicare premiums and cost-sharing, and also covers things Medicare does not, such as long-term services and supports.
• Partial dual eligible — You do not get full Medicaid, but a Medicare Savings Program (like QMB, SLMB or QI) helps pay some Medicare costs, such as your Part B premium.

Different D-SNPs are built for different groups. Some accept only full-benefit dual members; some accept partial dual members too; and some are "look-alike" plans tied to specific care settings. The plan's materials spell out which category it serves. If you are not sure where you stand, call the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) or 1-800-MEDICARE and ask them to confirm your current dual status.

The 12 D-SNPs offered in Marion County for 2027

The table on this page lists every D-SNP available in the county, by carrier, in alphabetical order. In short:

• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 4 D-SNPs: Anthem Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP), Anthem Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP), Anthem I PathWays Dual Care Advantage (HMO D-SNP), and Anthem I PathWays Dual Care Advantage NFLOC (HMO D-SNP).
• Humana — 4 D-SNPs: Humana Dual Select H4939-002 (HMO-POS D-SNP), Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H4939-003 (HMO-POS D-SNP), Humana PathWays Dual Care (HMO-POS D-SNP), and Humana PathWays Dual Care NFLOC (HMO-POS D-SNP), which is new for 2027.
• UnitedHealthcare — 4 D-SNPs: UHC Dual Complete IN-Q1 (PPO D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete IN-S002 (PPO D-SNP), UHC PathWays Dual Care IN-Y1 (PPO D-SNP), and UHC PathWays Dual Care IN-YL (PPO D-SNP). Three of these are the same plans you may have had in 2026 under different names — the plan's Annual Notice of Change will explain.

We do not list premiums, copays, drug lists, provider networks or star ratings here. Those details change by plan and are personal — look them up on the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or read the plan's Evidence of Coverage.

How often a dual-eligible person can change plans

Most people on Medicare can only change plans during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026 (changes take effect January 1, 2027), or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 – March 31.

If you have Medicaid or Extra Help, you generally get more chances. The current rule is a monthly Special Enrollment Period that lets you make one change per calendar quarter in the first nine months of the year to join an integrated D-SNP or go back to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan. The exact wording of this SEP has shifted in recent years, so before you act, confirm what applies to your situation with 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A few things do not change:

• You must still have both Medicare and Medicaid to stay in a D-SNP. If you lose Medicaid, the plan gives you a grace period, but you may have to switch.
• Your plan cannot drop you simply for using care.

How to confirm your eligibility — and what to do before December 7

Three practical steps for an Indianapolis reader this fall:

1. Confirm your Medicaid status. Contact Indiana FSSA or your Medicaid caseworker and ask, in writing if you can, whether you are full or partial dual eligible for 2027. Carriers verify this before enrolling you. 2. Read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) from your current plan. It arrived in September and lists exactly what is changing in 2027 — including the renamed UnitedHealthcare plans and any benefit updates. 3. Compare on medicare.gov. The Plan Finder lets you enter your drugs, pharmacies and doctors and see how each D-SNP in Marion County handles them.

A few 2027 program facts that apply to everyone with Part D, including D-SNP members (though Medicaid or Extra Help may cover much of this for you): the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and the IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet; CMS usually publishes them in November.