Medicare Advantage

Memphis Dual Special Needs Plans for 2027: who qualifies and how to switch

For 2027, Memphis is looking at 74 Medicare Advantage plans: 12 new, 11 gone since 2026, and 30 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 7 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Shelby County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

MEMPHIS — If you have both Medicare and Medicaid and live in or around Memphis, you have more Dual Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) options for 2027 than you did last year — and more freedom than most people to change plans during the year. CMS's 2027 plan file shows 12 D-SNPs offered in Shelby County, from five carriers, and one of them is new while two were renamed. Here is what that means as the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026) gets underway.

What a D-SNP is, in plain language

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. In Tennessee, the Medicaid side is called TennCare. D-SNPs include Part D drug coverage and are designed to coordinate the two programs so you deal with fewer gaps and less paperwork.

They are not the only Special Needs Plans in the area. The 2027 Shelby County lineup also includes 15 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) for people living with certain conditions and 5 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs) for people in long-term care settings. D-SNPs are the ones tied to dual Medicare-Medicaid status.

The 12 D-SNPs offered in Shelby County for 2027

The table on this page lists every Medicare Advantage plan sold in the county. For dual-eligible readers, the D-SNP slice looks like this for 2027, in alphabetical order by carrier:

• BlueCare Plus Tennessee: BlueCare Plus (HMO D-SNP); BlueCare Plus Choice (HMO D-SNP); BlueCare Plus Select (HMO D-SNP)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Wellpoint Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP) — renamed from Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage; Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage 2 (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage Support (HMO D-SNP)
• HealthSpring: HealthSpring TotalCare Plus (HMO D-SNP)
• Humana: Humana Dual QMB Only (HMO D-SNP) — renamed from Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H4461-038; Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H4461-022 (HMO D-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare: UHC Dual Complete TN-Q1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — new for 2027; UHC Dual Complete TN-Y2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — new for 2027; UHC Dual Complete TN-YL (HMO-POS D-SNP) — renamed from UHC Dual Complete TN-Y001

Not every D-SNP accepts every dual-eligible person. Some are built for "full" duals, some only for people in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) category, and some for other partial-dual groups. The plan's own materials and the Medicare Plan Finder show which categories a plan accepts.

Who qualifies: "full" vs. "partial" dual eligibility

To join any D-SNP, you need Medicare (Part A and Part B) and some level of Medicaid help from your state. In Tennessee, that is handled by TennCare and the Medicare Savings Programs.

In rough terms:

• Full-benefit dual eligible: you get full Medicaid benefits in addition to Medicare. Medicaid may help with long-term services and supports, and typically with Medicare cost-sharing.
• Partial dual eligible: you qualify for a Medicare Savings Program (QMB, SLMB, or QI) that helps pay Medicare premiums and, for QMBs, cost-sharing — but you do not get full Medicaid benefits.

Each D-SNP is designed around one or more of these categories. If you are not sure which group you are in, TennCare can confirm your Medicaid status and 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) can confirm your Medicare enrollment. Do not guess based on a mailer.

How often you can change plans

Most people on Medicare can only change plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026, for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31).

Dual-eligible people and people who get Extra Help with drug costs have more flexibility. Under current CMS rules, they generally get a monthly Special Enrollment Period to:

• Join an integrated D-SNP that works closely with their Medicaid plan, or
• Drop a Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan.

The rules around these monthly opportunities have shifted in recent years, and they can differ by plan type. Before you make a change, call 1-800-MEDICARE or check medicare.gov so you know exactly which SEP applies to your situation and when the new coverage will start.

What's changing locally for 2027

Across all Medicare Advantage plans in Shelby County, CMS's year-over-year comparison shows 11 plans not returning for 2027, 12 new plans and 7 renamed plans. On the D-SNP side specifically, two UnitedHealthcare D-SNPs are new, and plans from Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana and UnitedHealthcare have new names for 2027.

If you are already in a D-SNP, your plan will mail an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) in the fall. That document spells out what is changing for your specific plan in 2027 — including any rename. If you do nothing and your plan is still offered, your coverage simply renews with those changes.

Program-level numbers to keep in mind

A few 2027 figures CMS has already confirmed apply to Part D drug coverage, which is built into every D-SNP:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, had not been announced as of fall 2026. CMS typically publishes those figures later in the fall. Many full-dual members have Medicaid pay their Part B premium, so these numbers may not come out of your pocket — but it is worth asking your plan or TennCare how it works for you.

How to confirm your eligibility before you choose

Before you compare D-SNPs, line up three things:

1. Your Medicare status. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or sign in at medicare.gov to confirm you have Part A and Part B and see your current plan. 2. Your Medicaid category. Contact TennCare to confirm you are enrolled and to find out whether you are a full-benefit dual or in a Medicare Savings Program category like QMB, SLMB or QI. 3. The plans themselves. Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see which D-SNPs in Shelby County accept your specific dual-eligible category, and read each plan's Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage.