Medicare Advantage

Columbus Dual Special Needs Plans for 2027: who qualifies and how often you can switch

People in Columbus can choose from 79 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 92 this year. 27 of this year’s plans are gone, 14 are new to Franklin County, and 28 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 5 of them under a new name.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the Annual Enrollment Period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2026, Franklin County residents who have both Medicare and Ohio Medicaid have a specific set of plans built for them: Dual Special Needs Plans, or D-SNPs. For 2027, the CMS Landscape file lists 11 D-SNPs offered in Franklin County, from four carriers. Here is who qualifies, how the plans fit together with Medicaid, and how often a dual-eligible member can change plans — including rights most other Medicare members do not have.

What a D-SNP is, in plain terms

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed for people who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. Like other Medicare Advantage plans, every D-SNP in Franklin County includes Part D prescription drug coverage. What makes a D-SNP different is that it coordinates with your Medicaid benefits — the same plan is organizing both sides of your coverage, which is why these plans are sometimes called "integrated."

In Ohio, you may also see the term MyCare Ohio. That is the state's program that aligns Medicare and Medicaid for people who qualify, and several D-SNPs in the county are built around it.

Who qualifies: full vs. partial dual eligibility

To join a D-SNP you must have Medicare (Parts A and B) and be enrolled in Medicaid in Ohio. Medicaid itself comes in levels, and plans may be designed for different levels:

• Full dual eligibility means Medicaid covers a broad set of benefits in addition to helping with Medicare cost-sharing. People who are "full duals" typically have the widest D-SNP choices, including MyCare Ohio–aligned plans.
• Partial dual eligibility means Medicaid helps pay some Medicare costs (through a Medicare Savings Program) but does not provide full Medicaid benefits. Some D-SNPs are built for partial duals; others are not.

The Ohio Department of Medicaid is the office that confirms whether you qualify and at what level. If you are not sure, that is the right place to ask before you pick a plan. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE to confirm what you are currently enrolled in on the Medicare side.

The 11 D-SNPs offered in Franklin County for 2027

Below are the Dual Special Needs Plans listed in the CMS 2027 Landscape file for Franklin County, grouped by carrier in alphabetical order. The table on this page lists every plan available in the county; the names below are limited to D-SNPs.

CareSource MyCare Ohio (1 plan)

• CareSource MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP)

Centene (WellCare) (4 plans)

• Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Access (HMO D-SNP) — new for 2027
• Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Reserve (HMO D-SNP) — new for 2027
• Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align (HMO D-SNP) — new for 2027
• Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align Unity (HMO D-SNP) — renamed (previously Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align (HMO D-SNP))

Elevance Health (Anthem) (4 plans)

• Anthem Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP)
• Anthem Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP) — new for 2027
• Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — new for 2027
• Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Support (HMO D-SNP) — renamed (previously Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP))

Molina Healthcare of Ohio (2 plans)

• Molina Complete Care Connect for MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP) — new for 2027
• Molina Complete Care for MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP)

For reference, Franklin County's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup also includes 8 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and 5 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs), which serve different situations.

How often a dual-eligible person can change plans

If you have both Medicare and Medicaid — or you qualify for Extra Help with Part D — Medicare gives you more flexibility than other members:

• The Annual Enrollment Period, Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, is open to everyone. Any change you make takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
• The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, Jan. 1 through March 31, 2027, lets anyone in a Medicare Advantage plan make one change.
• A monthly opportunity is generally available to people with Medicaid or Extra Help to join an integrated D-SNP or to leave Medicare Advantage and return to Original Medicare with a stand-alone drug plan. The exact rules have been shifting in recent years, so confirm what applies to you today with 1-800-MEDICARE before you act.

If you do nothing during Oct. 15–Dec. 7, your current plan renews for 2027 if it is still offered. The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed in September spells out what is different next year.

How to confirm your eligibility and compare

Before enrolling, two phone calls can save a lot of back-and-forth:

1. The Ohio Department of Medicaid — to confirm your current Medicaid status (full or partial) and that your case is active. 2. 1-800-MEDICARE — to confirm what Medicare has on file for you and to ask which plans you can switch into this month.

Then compare plans at medicare.gov using the Plan Finder. Enter your ZIP code and your medications, and the tool will show the D-SNPs you are eligible for alongside each plan's own details.

What's changing elsewhere in 2027

A couple of program-level numbers are worth knowing as you compare drug coverage inside a D-SNP:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• The 2027 Part B standard premium and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets have not yet been announced; CMS publishes those later in the fall.

Many D-SNP members have most or all of these drug costs covered by Medicaid or Extra Help, but it is still useful to know the ceiling the program sets.