Medicare Advantage

Medicare and Medicaid in Massachusetts: 17 Dual Special Needs Plans for 2027

BOSTON — Massachusetts residents who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid will have 17 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) to consider for the 2027 plan year, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2027. Those 17 D-SNPs are part of 97 Medicare Advantage plans available statewide; the Landscape files also show 1 Chronic Condition SNP (C-SNP) and 0 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs) in the state.

D-SNPs are a specific kind of Medicare Advantage plan built around the needs of people who have both Medicare and MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program. Choices made during the Annual Enrollment Period, which runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, take effect January 1, 2027.

What a D-SNP is, and who qualifies

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed for people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. In Massachusetts, Medicaid is administered as MassHealth, and MassHealth is the agency that confirms whether a person is dual eligible.

Dual eligibility comes in two broad forms. "Full" dual eligibles qualify for the full range of Medicaid benefits in addition to Medicare. "Partial" dual eligibles receive help from Medicaid with Medicare costs — for example, through one of the Medicare Savings Programs — but do not get the complete Medicaid benefit package. Both categories can be eligible for a D-SNP, but the exact plan a person can join depends on the dual-eligibility category MassHealth has on file. Enrollment in a D-SNP requires that status to be verified by the state.

All 17 of the D-SNPs on the Massachusetts 2027 Landscape are HMO D-SNPs and include prescription drug coverage. The full list, including county counts for each plan, appears in the tables on this page.

The statewide count and the carriers offering D-SNPs

For 2027, seven carriers offer D-SNPs in Massachusetts:

• Commonwealth Care Alliance Massachusetts (1 plan)
• Commonwealth Care Alliance, Inc. (1 plan)
• Fallon Health (2 plans)
• Mass General Brigham Health Plan (2 plans)
• Molina Healthcare of Massachusetts (3 plans)
• Tufts Health Plan (4 plans)
• UnitedHealthcare (4 plans)

A few year-over-year notes stand out when comparing the CY2026 and CY2027 Landscape Source Files. Fallon Health's NaviCare (HMO D-SNP) is listed as new for next year, and Fallon's NaviCare NHC (HMO D-SNP) is a rename of what was previously called NaviCare (HMO D-SNP). UnitedHealthcare has two renames: UHC One Care MA-YL (HMO D-SNP) was UHC One Care MA-Y4, and UHC Senior Care Options MA-YL (HMO D-SNP) was UHC Senior Care Options NHC MA-Y002.

Every plan name and carrier count is drawn from the statewide D-SNP data shown in the plan table on this page. No ranking, star rating, premium, copay, benefit or network detail is implied by the order in which carriers are listed above; the list is alphabetical.

How often a dual-eligible person can change plans

Dual-eligible residents have more flexibility than most Medicare beneficiaries. In addition to the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026, for a January 1, 2027 start), people who have both Medicare and Medicaid generally qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that allows one plan change during each of the first three quarters of the calendar year — January through March, April through June, and July through September. The fourth-quarter change happens through the regular Annual Enrollment Period.

There is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31 each year, during which someone already in a Medicare Advantage plan can make one switch.

The exact rules that apply to a given person depend on their dual-eligibility category, so it is worth confirming eligibility with MassHealth and the enrollment window with Medicare before making a change. Current rules are published at medicare.gov under Medicare enrollment periods.

Checking a plan in your county

The 17 D-SNPs listed in the plan table are a statewide count. Each individual plan is offered only in certain Massachusetts counties — anywhere from 8 to 12 counties, depending on the plan. For example, the two Mass General Brigham Health Plan D-SNPs are each offered in 8 counties, while CCA One Care (HMO D-SNP) from Commonwealth Care Alliance, Inc. is offered in 12. A plan listed on this page may or may not be available where you live.

To check what is actually offered in your ZIP code and county:

1. Go to the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov and enter your ZIP code. 2. Filter for Special Needs Plans, then Dual Special Needs Plans. 3. Compare premiums, drug coverage (Part D), provider networks, pharmacy access and any extra benefits directly on the plan's listing. 4. Review the plan's Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories before enrolling.

Medicare Plan Finder, 1-800-MEDICARE and the plan's own documents are the authoritative sources for plan-level details. The county counts shown on this page come from the CMS MA Landscape Source File for CY2027.

Free help

Residents can get free, personalized information in a few ways:

• Medicare.gov — Plan Finder, enrollment tools, and the official rules on enrollment periods.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including TTY service.
• MassHealth — to confirm current Medicaid status, dual-eligibility category, and any documentation needed for a D-SNP application.

Having a current MassHealth eligibility notice in hand before you call or enroll makes the process faster, since D-SNP enrollment depends on that confirmation.