Medicare Advantage

Have Medicare and Texas Medicaid? Garland's 2027 D-SNPs

Dallas County has 84 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 20 are new, and 31 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 9 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Garland, not which plan to pick.

GARLAND, Texas — Fall 2026. If you have both Medicare and Texas Medicaid and live in Garland, your 2027 plan options are coming into focus. Dallas County, which includes Garland, will offer 20 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for the 2027 plan year, drawn from seven carriers. That is the slice of Medicare Advantage built specifically for "dual eligible" residents — people who qualify for both programs — and the rules for joining or changing one are not the same as for a standard Medicare plan.

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

A Dual Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) is a type of Medicare Advantage plan limited to people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. In Dallas County, 20 of the 84 Medicare Advantage plans available for 2027 are D-SNPs. The other Special Needs Plans in the county serve different groups: 15 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and 7 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs).

D-SNPs are designed to coordinate the two programs so a member deals with one plan for most of their care, and all of them in Dallas County include Part D prescription drug coverage.

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

Seven carriers offer D-SNPs in Dallas County for the 2027 plan year. In alphabetical order, they are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 4 plans
• Centene (WellCare) — 3 plans
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 3 plans
• HealthSpring — 2 plans
• Humana — 3 plans
• Molina Healthcare of Texas, Inc. — 1 plan
• UnitedHealthcare — 4 plans

Several D-SNPs are new for 2027 or carry a new name. New plans in the county include Aetna Medicare QMB Only Care, Wellpoint Dual Advantage Plus Select, Wellpoint Dual Advantage Select, Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage Select, HealthSpring TotalCare Plus, UHC Dual Advantage TX-V11, UHC Dual Complete TX-Q6, and UHC Dual Complete TX-Y1. Renamed plans include Aetna Medicare Full Dual Care (previously Aetna Medicare Dual Care), Aetna Medicare Full Dual Extra Care (previously Aetna Medicare Full Dual Care), Aetna Medicare QMB Only Extra Care (previously Aetna Medicare Partial Dual Care), Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Access (previously Wellcare Dual Access), and Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Reserve (previously Wellcare Dual Reserve). The table below lists every D-SNP by carrier.

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

To join any D-SNP in Garland, you must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B and have some level of Medicaid coverage from the State of Texas. Beyond that, the plans are built around categories the state assigns:

• Full dual eligibles have full Medicaid benefits in addition to Medicare. Medicaid typically helps with Medicare premiums and cost-sharing and may cover services Medicare does not, such as long-term services and supports.
• Partial dual eligibles qualify for one of the Medicare Savings Programs — for example, the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program — which helps pay Medicare premiums and some out-of-pocket costs but is not full Medicaid.

Different D-SNPs are built for different groups. Some only accept full duals; some are built for QMB-only members. The plan name sometimes signals that (you will see "Full Dual" or "QMB Only" in several names on the list), but the plan's enrollment materials spell out exactly which category it accepts. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is the office that confirms your Medicaid category.

How often can a dual-eligible person in Garland change plans?

Most people with Medicare can only change plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026, for 2027 coverage) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31). People with Medicaid or Extra Help have additional chances.

Under current rules, a dual-eligible person generally has a monthly Special Enrollment Period that allows them to:

• Enroll in an integrated D-SNP that works closely with their Medicaid plan, or
• Leave a Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare, pairing it with a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

These rules have changed in recent years, so before you act, confirm what applies to your situation by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) or checking medicare.gov. If your Medicaid status changes — for example, you lose Medicaid or move from partial to full — a separate Special Enrollment Period usually opens so you can switch to a plan that fits.

How do I confirm my eligibility before I enroll?

Two agencies hold the pieces. For Medicare, check your status at medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE. For Medicaid, contact Texas Health and Human Services (yourtexasbenefits.com or 2-1-1) to confirm whether you have full Medicaid, QMB, or another Medicare Savings Program category. Have both answers in hand before you shop a D-SNP, because the plan can only accept you if your category matches what it serves.

When you compare plans on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, enter your ZIP code and your Medicaid information. The Plan Finder will show which D-SNPs in Dallas County you are eligible to join and the specific premiums, drug lists, networks and benefits — details that vary by plan and change year to year. If you already have a D-SNP, read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that arrives each fall; it describes what will be different about your plan in 2027.

What else is changing for 2027?

A few program-level numbers are set for 2027. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 (from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, along with the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced; CMS publishes those figures later in the fall, usually in November.

Across Dallas County, the broader 2027 Medicare Advantage landscape also shifts: some plans are not returning, some are new, and some carry new names. If your current plan is one of them, your ANOC will spell out the specifics.