Medicare Advantage

Medicare and Medicaid in Maine: 14 Dual Special Needs Plans for 2027

AUGUSTA, Maine — Mainers who qualify for both Medicare and MaineCare will have 14 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) to consider for the 2027 plan year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2027. Those 14 plans are part of a larger field of 50 Medicare Advantage plans available somewhere in Maine next year, which also includes 3 Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs) and 1 Institutional Special Needs Plan (I-SNP).

D-SNPs are built specifically for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid, and they are offered county by county. That means a plan on the statewide list may or may not be sold in the county where a reader actually lives.

What is a D-SNP and who qualifies for one in Maine for 2027?

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed only for people who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. In Maine, that Medicaid program is called MaineCare, and the state Medicaid agency is the office that confirms whether a person is dual-eligible before a D-SNP enrollment can be finalized for 2027.

Dual eligibility comes in two broad forms. "Full" dual-eligible residents receive full MaineCare benefits alongside Medicare. "Partial" dual-eligible residents qualify for one of the Medicare Savings Programs, which help pay Medicare costs but do not provide full MaineCare benefits. D-SNPs in Maine are designed for both groups, though individual plans may be targeted to one category or the other. The CMS Landscape file shows this directly in plan names such as Aetna Medicare Full Dual and Aetna Medicare Partial Dual.

To join any D-SNP, a person must have Medicare Parts A and B, live in the plan's service area, and have their dual status verified by MaineCare.

How many D-SNPs are offered in Maine for 2027, and which carriers offer them?

Maine's statewide D-SNP count for 2027 is 14 plans from five carriers, as listed in the CMS Landscape file for CY2027. The carrier breakdown is Aetna (CVS Health) with 2 plans, Centene (WellCare) with 3, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 2, Humana with 3, and UnitedHealthcare with 4.

The 14 plans include HMO, HMO-POS, and PPO D-SNPs, and all of them include Part D prescription drug coverage. One of the Elevance Health (Anthem) plans — Anthem | MaineHealth Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — is new for 2027. The two UnitedHealthcare plans listed as UHC Dual Complete ME-Q2 (PPO D-SNP) were renamed from UHC Dual Complete ME-S2 (PPO D-SNP). The full plan-by-plan list, including which plan is offered in how many counties, appears in the tables on this page rather than in prose here.

County footprints across the 14 plans range from 4 counties to 16 counties. Because Maine has 16 counties, no single D-SNP on the 2027 list is sold in every county, which is why checking the county-level availability matters.

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

Dual-eligible Mainers can change Medicare Advantage or Part D plans more often than most other Medicare beneficiaries. In addition to the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026, for coverage starting January 1, 2027) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027), people with both Medicare and Medicaid generally have a Special Enrollment Period that lets them make a change once per calendar quarter during the first three quarters of the year.

That means a dual-eligible resident of Maine typically has opportunities in January–March, April–June, and July–September 2027 to switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or to a stand-alone Part D plan, in addition to the Annual Enrollment window at the end of 2026. Changes made under a dual Special Enrollment Period usually take effect the first day of the following month.

Rules for Special Enrollment Periods can change, so a reader can confirm current eligibility and timing at medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

How do I check whether a specific D-SNP is offered in my Maine county for 2027?

The most reliable way to check county-level availability in Maine for 2027 is the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, which draws directly from the CMS Landscape Source File. Entering a ZIP code returns the Medicare Advantage, D-SNP, C-SNP, and I-SNP plans actually offered in that location.

For example, the statewide list for 2027 shows that Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP) and Aetna Medicare Full Dual (HMO-POS D-SNP) are each offered in 16 counties, while HumanaChoice SNP-DE H5216-291 (PPO D-SNP) is offered in 11 counties and one of the UnitedHealthcare entries is offered in 4. The tables on this page show each plan's county count; the Plan Finder shows whether a given plan is sold in a specific ZIP code and lists its premium, cost-sharing, drug list, provider network, and star rating — details that are not covered in this article.

Readers can also request the plan's Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories directly from the carrier.

Where can I get free help with Medicare and MaineCare decisions for 2027 in Maine?

Free, unbiased help is available year-round. Medicare.gov hosts the Plan Finder and plain-language explanations of enrollment rules, and 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For questions specific to MaineCare eligibility, including whether a person is considered full or partial dual-eligible, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services administers MaineCare and is the official source for that determination. The Social Security Administration can answer questions about Medicare enrollment and premium-related assistance programs.