Medicare Advantage

Do You Qualify for a Portland D-SNP in 2027?

People in Portland can choose from 45 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 58 this year. 18 of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Multnomah County, and 29 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 7 of them under a new name.

PORTLAND, Ore. — For Portland-area residents who have both Medicare and Medicaid, the 2027 lineup of Dual Special Needs Plans is now set. Multnomah County will have two D-SNPs available in 2027, offered by two carriers, and one of those plans is being renamed. That change — along with the Annual Enrollment Period running Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026 — makes this a good moment to review how D-SNPs work and whether you qualify.

What a Dual Special Needs Plan is

A Dual Special Needs Plan, or D-SNP, is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Like other Medicare Advantage plans, D-SNPs include Part A (hospital), Part B (medical) and, in the Portland area, Part D (prescription drugs). They are designed to coordinate the two programs so your Medicare and Medicaid benefits work together.

D-SNPs are one of three kinds of Special Needs Plans. The others are C-SNPs, for people with certain chronic conditions, and I-SNPs, for people who live in a nursing home or need a nursing-home level of care. For 2027, Multnomah County will have 2 D-SNPs along with 7 C-SNPs and 4 I-SNPs, out of 45 Medicare Advantage plans overall.

The 2027 D-SNPs in Multnomah County

Portland sits in Multnomah County, where plan availability is set. Two carriers will offer D-SNPs there for 2027:

• CareOregon Advantage — CareOregon Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP)
• Centene (WellCare) — Wellcare Trillium Health Plan Dual Select Sync (HMO D-SNP), which was renamed from Wellcare Dual Select Sync (HMO-POS D-SNP)

The table below lists every plan. Specific costs, provider networks and drug lists for a D-SNP come from the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, from 1-800-MEDICARE, or from the plan's own Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories.

Who qualifies: full and partial dual eligibility

To enroll in a D-SNP you need both Medicare and some level of help from your state Medicaid program. In Oregon, that program is run by the Oregon Health Authority through the Oregon Health Plan.

There are two broad groups:

• Full dual eligible. Medicaid covers a wider range of services, and the Medicare Savings Programs pay your Medicare premiums and often most of your cost-sharing.
• Partial dual eligible. Medicaid helps pay some Medicare costs — for example, the Part B premium — through a Medicare Savings Program, but does not provide full Medicaid benefits.

Different D-SNPs are built for different categories of dual eligibility, so not every D-SNP accepts every dual-eligible person. The plan will confirm your category when you apply. If you are not sure where you fall, the Oregon Health Authority can confirm your current Medicaid level, and 1-800-MEDICARE can walk you through how that lines up with D-SNP rules.

How often you can change plans

Most people with Medicare can change plans once a year during the Annual Enrollment Period, Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, with coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews for 2027 if it is being offered again, with any changes spelled out in the plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

People who have Medicaid or who get Extra Help with Part D costs have more flexibility. In general, there is a monthly opportunity during the year to make certain changes — for example, to join an integrated D-SNP, or to leave a Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare with a stand-alone drug plan. The exact rules on how often and what kind of change you can make have shifted in recent years, so confirm the current rules with 1-800-MEDICARE before you switch.

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, Jan. 1 through March 31, is another window when people already in a Medicare Advantage plan can make one change.

How to confirm your eligibility

A few simple steps before you enroll:

1. Confirm your Medicaid status. Contact the Oregon Health Authority or your Oregon Health Plan caseworker to confirm you are currently enrolled and at what level (full or partial dual). 2. Confirm your Medicare status. Have your Medicare card handy and check that Parts A and B are both active. You can verify this at medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. 3. Compare the D-SNPs available in your ZIP code. Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see each D-SNP's details for 2027, including provider networks, drug lists and cost-sharing. 4. Ask the plan about Oregon Medicaid alignment. D-SNPs work best when the plan is set up to coordinate with your Medicaid benefits. The plan can tell you what that looks like for your situation.

What else is changing in 2027

For 2027, CMS has confirmed a few program-wide figures that affect drug coverage: the Part D out-of-pocket cap will be $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible will be $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet; CMS typically publishes those in the fall.

Across all Medicare Advantage plans in Multnomah County, 18 plans are not returning for 2027, 5 are new, and 7 have been renamed. Watch your mail in September and October 2026 for your plan's ANOC, which spells out exactly what is changing.