Medicare Advantage

Have Medicare and MO HealthNet? Read This First

Jackson County has 65 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 11 plans are not coming back, 12 are new, and 36 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 16 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Kansas City, not which plan to pick.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — People in Jackson County who have both Medicare and Missouri Medicaid (MO HealthNet) will have 15 Dual Special Needs Plans to choose from for 2027, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for the coming plan year. The lineup includes new names, renamed plans and familiar carriers — and because of how dual eligibility works, these shoppers do not have to wait for the fall window to make a move.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan renews into 2027 with the changes listed in its Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

What a D-SNP is, in plain terms

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built for people who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. Like other Advantage plans, D-SNPs include Part A, Part B and (in Jackson County) Part D drug coverage in one plan. What makes them different is that they coordinate your Medicare benefits with the help you get from Missouri Medicaid.

Of the 65 Medicare Advantage plans available in Jackson County for 2027, 15 are D-SNPs. The county also has 5 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and 9 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs) — those serve different groups and are not the same as D-SNPs.

Who qualifies: full vs. partial dual eligibility

To join a D-SNP you must have Medicare (Parts A and B) and some form of Missouri Medicaid. There are two broad groups:

• Full-benefit dual eligibles have Medicare and the full MO HealthNet benefit package. Medicaid helps with Medicare cost-sharing and also covers services Medicare does not, such as long-term services and supports.
• Partial-benefit dual eligibles have Medicare plus one of the Medicare Savings Programs (for example, QMB, SLMB or QI). These programs help pay Medicare premiums and, for QMB, cost-sharing — but they are not full Medicaid.

Different D-SNPs are designed for different categories. Some accept any dual-eligible member; others are limited to full-benefit duals. The plan's enrollment materials spell out which category it serves. The Missouri Family Support Division (which runs MO HealthNet eligibility) is the office that can confirm your exact level in writing.

The 2027 D-SNP lineup in Jackson County

Five carriers offer D-SNPs in Jackson County for 2027: Aetna (CVS Health) with 3, Centene (WellCare) with 3, Devoted Health with 3, Humana with 2 and UnitedHealthcare with 4. The table below lists every plan.

A few things to notice as you compare them:

• New for 2027: Aetna Medicare Full Dual Extra Care (HMO D-SNP), UHC Dual Advantage MO-V1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete MO-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP).
• Renamed for 2027: the three Wellcare D-SNPs now carry "Home State Health" in the name (Wellcare Home State Health Dual Access, Dual Access Open and Dual Reserve), and two UnitedHealthcare plans were renumbered (UHC Dual Complete MO-Q1 and MO-Q2).
• Returning without a name change: Aetna Medicare Dual Care, Aetna Medicare Full Dual Care, DEVOTED DUAL 008 MO, DEVOTED DUAL FULL 011 MO, DEVOTED DUAL PLUS 007 MO, Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H0028-015 and Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H4461-044.

Benefits, networks, drug lists and costs vary by plan. Those details live in each plan's Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage, or on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

How often a dual-eligible person can change plans

This is the part most people do not realize. On top of the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31), people with Medicaid or Extra Help get extra chances to change plans through Special Enrollment Periods.

In general, if you are dual-eligible you have a monthly opportunity to:

• enroll in an integrated D-SNP that matches your Medicaid category, or
• leave a Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan.

CMS has been tightening and reshaping these SEP rules in recent years, so before you make a mid-year change, call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) to confirm the current rule for your situation. The agent can also tell you the effective date of any change you make.

How to confirm your eligibility before you enroll

Three steps that save a lot of back-and-forth:

1. Confirm your Medicaid level. Contact MO HealthNet / Missouri Family Support Division or check your mo.gov account to see whether you have full MO HealthNet or a Medicare Savings Program, and keep the award letter. 2. Check your Medicare status. Log in at medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE to confirm you have Parts A and B active and to see your current plan. 3. Compare D-SNPs side by side. Use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov, entering your ZIP code and your drugs, to see each plan's specifics in Jackson County.

2027 Part D figures to keep in mind

D-SNPs include drug coverage, and the Part D program-wide numbers are changing for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible is $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 specific plan charges.

Most full-benefit dual eligibles qualify automatically for Extra Help, which lowers Part D costs well below those caps. The 2027 Part B standard premium, deductible and IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet; CMS usually publishes those in the fall.