Medicare Advantage

Medicare and Medicaid together in Greensboro: a plain guide to D-SNPs for 2027

Guilford County has 97 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 15 plans are not coming back, 14 are new, and 41 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 Greensboro, not which plan to pick.

Greensboro, N.C. — Fall 2026. If you have both Medicare and North Carolina Medicaid, you have more plan choices — and more chances to change your mind during the year — than most people on Medicare. For 2027, Guilford County, where Greensboro sits, has 24 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) on the Medicare Advantage menu, offered by 10 carriers. Open enrollment for those 2027 plans runs Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Here is a plain-English look at what a D-SNP is, who can join one, how often you can switch, and how to confirm your eligibility before you pick.

What is a Dual Special Needs Plan in Greensboro for 2027?

A Dual Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built only for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. The plan handles your Medicare benefits, usually includes Part D drug coverage, and is designed to work alongside the Medicaid benefits you already get from the state.

In Guilford County, 24 of the 97 Medicare Advantage plans offered for 2027 are D-SNPs. The county also has 10 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and 6 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs), which serve different groups and are not covered in this article.

Which carriers offer D-SNPs in Guilford County for 2027?

Ten carriers offer D-SNPs in Guilford County for 2027. In alphabetical order, they are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 2 plans
• Alignment Health Plan — 1 plan
• AmeriHealth Caritas VIP Care — 1 plan (new for 2027)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina — 1 plan
• Centene (WellCare) — 3 plans
• Devoted Health — 3 plans
• HealthSpring — 2 plans
• Humana — 5 plans
• Liberty Medicare Advantage — 1 plan
• UnitedHealthcare — 5 plans

A few names you may remember from 2026 have changed for 2027. Aetna Medicare Dual became Aetna Medicare Full Dual. Alignment Health NC Duals became Alignment Health Duals+ 004. Three WellCare plans picked up "Carolina Complete" in their names (Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Liberty, Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Liberty Open, and Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Reserve). Two UnitedHealthcare D-SNPs were renamed (UHC Dual Advantage NC-V1 and UHC Dual Complete NC-Q1), and UnitedHealthcare also added two brand-new D-SNPs for 2027 (UHC Dual Complete NC-Q2 and UHC Dual Complete NC-S3). The table below lists every D-SNP by carrier.

A rename does not automatically change the benefits — but the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your current plan mails each fall is where any benefit, cost, or network changes are spelled out. Read it before Dec. 7.

Who qualifies for a D-SNP — full dual vs. partial dual?

To join any D-SNP you must have Medicare (Part A and Part B) and be enrolled in North Carolina Medicaid. The state Medicaid agency decides which category you fall into, and that category decides which D-SNPs you are eligible for.

In plain terms:

• Full dual eligibility means Medicaid pays for a full set of benefits — things like long-term services and extra help with medical costs Medicare does not cover. Full-benefit duals usually have the widest D-SNP choice, including plans built around full integration with Medicaid.
• Partial dual eligibility means Medicaid helps pay some of your Medicare costs (for example, your Part B premium, or your deductibles and coinsurance) through one of the Medicare Savings Programs, but you do not get full Medicaid benefits. Partial duals can still join certain D-SNPs, but not all of them.

Each D-SNP in Guilford County is designed for a specific slice of this group. The plan documents and the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov will tell you which category a plan accepts. If you are not sure which category you are in, do not guess — confirm it before you enroll (see the last section).

How often can a dual-eligible person change plans?

Most people on Medicare can change plans only during the fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31). People with Medicaid or Extra Help have additional chances throughout the year.

Under the current CMS rules, dual-eligible and Extra Help enrollees generally get a monthly Special Enrollment Period to either:

• enroll in a fully integrated D-SNP that works with their Medicaid plan, or
• drop a Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare, then add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

There are also other Special Enrollment Periods tied to life events — moving, losing coverage, a change in your Medicaid status — that can open the door to a plan change outside the fall window. Rules change from year to year, so confirm the current timing with 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) before you count on a specific window.

What should you check before Dec. 7, 2026?

A short checklist, whether you already have a D-SNP or are new to the idea:

1. Open your ANOC. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage or D-SNP plan, the Annual Notice of Change arrived in September. It lists what is different for 2027. 2. Confirm your Medicaid status. Call NC Medicaid or your county Department of Social Services. Your eligibility category (full vs. partial) controls which D-SNPs you can join. 3. Check doctors and drugs. On medicare.gov, use the Plan Finder to see whether your providers are in a plan's network and whether your prescriptions are on its formulary. 4. Know the 2027 Part D numbers. The out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs is $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615). CMS will publish the 2027 Part B premium and the IRMAA brackets later this fall. 5. Pick by Dec. 7, 2026 if you want a change effective Jan. 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan rolls into 2027 as described in the ANOC — assuming it is still offered.

How do I confirm my dual eligibility?

Three official starting points — no cost, no sales pitch:

• NC Medicaid / your county Department of Social Services. The state Medicaid agency is the only office that can confirm your current Medicaid category.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24/7. Medicare's own service line can tell you what plans you are eligible for and walk you through enrollment.
• medicare.gov. The Plan Finder shows every D-SNP available in your ZIP code, with benefits, drug lists and provider look-ups side by side.