Medicare Advantage

Before You Pick a D-SNP in Orleans Parish for 2027

Orleans Parish has 67 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 10 plans are not coming back, 12 are new, and 28 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 11 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for New Orleans, not which plan to pick.

NEW ORLEANS — Fall 2026. If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, your plan choices for 2027 are coming into focus. New Orleans is in Orleans Parish, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists 23 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for the 2027 plan year — the kind of Medicare Advantage plan built for people who qualify for both programs. Seven carriers offer those D-SNPs locally, and a handful are new or renamed for next year. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

What a D-SNP is, in plain terms

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed only for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Like other Medicare Advantage plans, a D-SNP replaces Original Medicare for your Part A and Part B services and, in the plans offered in Orleans Parish, includes Part D drug coverage. What makes it different is that it is built around people who also have Medicaid, so the plan coordinates with the state Medicaid program for things Medicare does not cover.

D-SNPs come in a few network shapes — HMO, HMO-POS and PPO. The table below lists every D-SNP available in Orleans Parish for 2027, by carrier and type. We will not attach costs, benefits or ratings to any plan here; those details belong on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or in each plan's own Evidence of Coverage.

Who qualifies: full and partial dual eligibility

Qualifying starts with two things: you have Medicare (usually Part A and Part B), and Louisiana Medicaid has determined you are eligible for some level of Medicaid help. The level matters because D-SNPs are often built for a specific group:

• Full dual eligible. You get full Medicaid benefits in addition to Medicare. Some D-SNPs are designed for this group.
• Partial dual eligible. You get help from a Medicare Savings Program but not full Medicaid. The most common category is the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, which helps with Medicare premiums and cost sharing. Some D-SNPs are built just for QMB-only members.

Your dual status is determined by the state, not the plan. If you are not sure which category you are in, Louisiana Medicaid can confirm it, and 1-800-MEDICARE can look up what Medicare has on file.

The 2027 D-SNP lineup in Orleans Parish

For 2027, CMS data shows 23 D-SNPs in Orleans Parish from these carriers:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 3 D-SNPs
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana — 1 D-SNP
• Centene (WellCare) — 3 D-SNPs
• Devoted Health — 3 D-SNPs
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 2 D-SNPs
• Humana — 5 D-SNPs
• UnitedHealthcare — 6 D-SNPs

A few are new for 2027, including Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP), Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP), DEVOTED DUAL CHOICE QMB 025 LA (PPO D-SNP), Peoples Health Dual Complete LA-S5 (HMO-POS D-SNP), Peoples Health Secure Complete (HMO-POS D-SNP) and Peoples Health Secure Health (HMO-POS D-SNP).

Several D-SNPs have been renamed for 2027. The renames do not change that a plan exists; they do mean a plan you remember by one name may appear under a new one. Examples include Aetna Medicare Partial Dual Care (HMO D-SNP) — previously Aetna Medicare Dual Care; Aetna Medicare QMB Only Care (HMO D-SNP) — previously Aetna Medicare Dual Extra Care; Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP) — previously Wellcare Dual Reserve; Healthy Blue Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — previously Healthy Blue Dual Advantage 2; Humana Dual QMB Only (HMO D-SNP) — previously Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H1951-032; UHC Dual Complete LA-Q1 (PPO D-SNP) — previously UHC Dual Complete LA-S001; and UHC Dual Complete LA-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — previously UHC Dual Complete LA-S003.

If you do nothing, your current plan renews next year if it is still offered, with the changes described in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) mailed in September.

How often you can switch (it is more than once a year)

Most Medicare beneficiaries can only change plans during the fall Annual Enrollment Period or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31). People with both Medicare and Medicaid, or with Extra Help for prescription drugs, have more chances to change:

• There is a monthly special enrollment opportunity to join an integrated D-SNP that matches your Medicaid plan, or to move back to Original Medicare and pick a stand-alone Part D drug plan.
• Any change still has to meet the plan's eligibility rules — for example, a plan built for full-dual members is only available to people with full Medicaid.
• If your dual status changes (you gain, lose or shift Medicaid categories), that itself may open a Special Enrollment Period.

The exact rules on how often and when you can switch have been adjusted in recent years, so confirm the current rule at 1-800-MEDICARE or on medicare.gov before you file a change.

How to confirm your eligibility

Three practical steps:

1. Check your Medicaid status with Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Health administers Medicaid, including the Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI). They can tell you which category you are in today. 2. Check what Medicare has on file. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or log in at medicare.gov. The Plan Finder will only show you D-SNPs you are allowed to join. 3. Read the plan materials. Each plan's Evidence of Coverage and Summary of Benefits spells out who the plan is for, what it covers, and the pharmacy and provider network.

Program-level numbers to keep in mind for 2027

A few confirmed, program-wide figures help put plan choices in context:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 (a formula used by CMS, not what any specific plan charges).
• The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible and the 2027 IRMAA brackets have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes them later in the fall.

People with full Medicaid or the QMB program often have most Medicare cost-sharing paid by Medicaid, so these caps may matter less to you personally — but they are the backdrop for every 2027 plan.