Medicare Advantage

Medicare and Medicaid in New York: 50 Dual Special Needs Plans for 2027

ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers who have both Medicare and Medicaid will have 50 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) to consider for 2027, out of 224 Medicare Advantage plans statewide, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for the 2027 plan year. These plans are built specifically for people who qualify for both programs, and they are offered county by county, so the choices on any given kitchen table in Buffalo, the Bronx, or Binghamton will be a subset of the statewide list.

What a D-SNP is, and who qualifies

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed only for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. The plan coordinates the Medicare side of your coverage and works alongside the Medicaid benefits you receive through New York State.

Dual eligibility comes in two broad forms. People with "full" dual eligibility receive the complete Medicaid benefit from the state, while people with "partial" dual eligibility receive help from Medicaid with certain Medicare costs through a Medicare Savings Program. Both groups may qualify for a D-SNP, but the specific plan you can join depends on the category of Medicaid help you receive. In every case, your Medicaid status is confirmed by the New York State Medicaid agency — not by the plan or by Medicare — before enrollment is finalized.

Because D-SNPs are tailored to dual-eligible members, their rules, service areas, and participating providers differ from general Medicare Advantage plans. For specifics on any plan, the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, and the plan's own Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories are the authoritative sources.

The statewide count and the carriers offering D-SNPs

For 2027, the CMS Landscape lists 50 D-SNPs available somewhere in New York. They are offered by 16 carriers (listed alphabetically): Aetna (CVS Health) with 3 plans, Centene (WellCare) with 6, Elderplan with 2, ElderServe Health with 1, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 3, Excellus Health Plan Community Care LLC with 4, Hamaspik, Inc. with 2, Healthfirst Medicare Plan with 3, Humana with 2, MetroPlus Health Plan with 2, MVP HEALTH CARE with 2, Nascentia Health Plus with 2, Senior Whole Health of New York with 2, UnitedHealthcare with 12, VillageCareMAX with 2, and VNS Health Medicare with 2.

Several plans are new for 2027, including entries from Centene (WellCare) such as Wellcare Fidelis Dual Access (HMO D-SNP) and Wellcare Fidelis Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP), new Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H3533-036 (HMO D-SNP) offerings, an Anthem HealthPlus Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) entry from Elevance Health (Anthem), and new UHC Dual Complete NY-S002 (HMO-POS D-SNP) listings from UnitedHealthcare. A few plans have been renamed rather than newly introduced — for example, Aetna Medicare FIDE (HMO D-SNP) was previously Aetna Medicare FIDE Care (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Fidelis Dual Align Unity (HMO D-SNP) was Wellcare Fidelis Dual Align (HMO D-SNP); and UHC Dual Complete NY-YL (HMO-POS D-SNP) was UHC Dual Complete NY-Y001 (HMO-POS D-SNP). Those renames can matter at enrollment time, since the plan on your card may appear under a new label even if the coverage structure is familiar.

The full plan-by-plan list, with county counts drawn from the CMS data, is rendered as tables elsewhere on this page.

How often a dual-eligible person can change plans

Most Medicare members use the Annual Enrollment Period — October 15 through December 7, 2026 — to pick coverage that starts January 1, 2027. Dual-eligible members have additional flexibility: they generally qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that allows plan changes outside the fall window, often once per calendar quarter in the first three quarters of the year, with any further changes made during the Annual Enrollment Period. There is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31 each year for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan.

The exact rules, including how a change in your Medicaid status can open or close an enrollment window, are described on medicare.gov under Medicare enrollment periods and can be confirmed by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

Checking a plan in your county

A statewide count is a starting point, not a shopping list. A plan that appears on the 2027 list may be offered in only a handful of counties, while others, such as Wellcare Dual Access Open (PPO D-SNP), Wellcare Fidelis Dual Align Unity (HMO D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete NY-Q001 (HMO-POS D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete NY-S001 (PPO D-SNP), and UHC Dual Complete NY-YL (HMO-POS D-SNP), are listed in a large share of New York counties. Smaller-footprint plans — including those from ElderServe Health, Excellus Health Plan Community Care LLC, MetroPlus Health Plan, VillageCareMAX, and VNS Health Medicare — are concentrated in specific regions.

To see which of the 50 D-SNPs are actually offered where you live, enter your ZIP code on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. The Plan Finder also shows each plan's current cost and benefit information, which this article does not include and which is not part of the Landscape data summarized here.

Free help

There is no charge to use Medicare's own tools. The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you compare plans available in your county, and 1-800-MEDICARE is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with interpreter services available. For dual-eligible New Yorkers, your Medicaid caseworker can also confirm your current eligibility category, which determines which D-SNPs you may join.