Medicare Advantage

Medicare and Medicaid in Ohio: 11 Dual Special Needs Plans for 2027

COLUMBUS — Ohioans who have both Medicare and Medicaid will see 11 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) available somewhere in the state for 2027, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for the coming plan year. Those 11 D-SNPs are part of a wider field of 180 Medicare Advantage plans statewide, which also includes 24 Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs) and 11 Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs).

A plan being counted statewide does not mean it is sold in every county. Each D-SNP is offered county by county, and shoppers should always confirm availability where they live.

What a D-SNP is and who qualifies

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built specifically for people who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. Every D-SNP listed for Ohio in 2027 is an HMO D-SNP with drug coverage, meaning Part D prescription benefits are built in rather than purchased separately.

Dual eligibility comes in two broad forms. Full-benefit dual eligibles have Medicare and also qualify for full Medicaid benefits through the state. Partial-benefit dual eligibles have Medicare and get help from Medicaid with Medicare costs — such as premiums or cost-sharing — through one of the Medicare Savings Programs, but do not receive full Medicaid. Different D-SNPs are designed for different categories of dual-eligible members, so the one a person is allowed to join depends on how their eligibility is classified.

The classification itself is not made by the plan or by Medicare. In Ohio, the Ohio Department of Medicaid confirms whether someone qualifies as full or partial dual-eligible. Before enrolling in a D-SNP, a person's dual status needs to be on file with the state.

The statewide count and the carriers offering them

For 2027, four carriers offer D-SNPs somewhere in Ohio: CareSource MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP) with 1 plan, Centene (WellCare) with 4, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 4, and Molina Healthcare of Ohio with 2. Those add up to the 11 D-SNPs that appear in the CMS Landscape file for the state.

Several of these plans are new for 2027. On the Centene (WellCare) side, Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Access (HMO D-SNP), Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Reserve (HMO D-SNP), and Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align (HMO D-SNP) appear for the first time, while Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align Unity (HMO D-SNP) is a rename of a prior-year plan. On the Elevance Health (Anthem) side, Anthem Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP) and Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) are new, and Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Support (HMO D-SNP) is a rename. Molina Complete Care Connect for MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP) is new for Molina, alongside its continuing Molina Complete Care for MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP). CareSource continues to offer its CareSource MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP).

A rename is important to notice because members may see a different plan name on 2027 materials even when their coverage is continuing with the same carrier. The full plan-by-plan list, with carrier and county footprint, is rendered as a table elsewhere on this page.

How often a dual-eligible person can change plans

Most Medicare beneficiaries make plan changes during the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), which runs October 15 – December 7, 2026 for coverage beginning January 1, 2027. Dual-eligible Ohioans can use AEP, too.

People with Medicare and Medicaid also have additional flexibility through a special enrollment period for dual-eligible and Extra Help individuals. Under current CMS enrollment rules, this SEP generally allows one plan change per calendar quarter during the first three quarters of the year, with the fourth-quarter change handled through AEP. There is also a separate SEP that applies when someone's Medicaid status itself changes — for example, gaining, losing, or having a change in the level of Medicaid assistance.

The practical takeaway: a dual-eligible Ohioan is not locked into a single plan for the whole year the way other Medicare members often are. The exact rules and timing for any individual situation should be confirmed at medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

Checking a plan in your county

The statewide count — 11 D-SNPs — tells you what exists in Ohio. It does not tell you what is sold on your street. Each plan's service area is defined county by county in the CMS MA Landscape Source File.

To check what is actually available where you live:

• Go to the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov and enter your ZIP code. You can filter by Special Needs Plans to see only D-SNPs.
• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Read the plan's own Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories before enrolling. These documents, not summaries, are the authoritative source for what a plan covers, which providers are in network, and which drugs are on the formulary.

Comparing year to year — for instance, confirming whether a plan was renamed, is new, or is continuing — can be done using the CMS Landscape Source Files for the current and coming plan year.

Free help

Help with Medicare choices in Ohio does not have to cost anything. The two no-cost, non-sales resources are:

• medicare.gov, the official federal Medicare site, which includes the Plan Finder and plan documents.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), staffed around the clock.

These resources can answer questions about enrollment periods, dual eligibility verification steps, and how to compare specific plans in a specific county without steering a caller toward any one carrier.