Medicare Advantage

Do You Have Medicare and Medicaid in Harris County?

People in Houston can choose from 99 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 114 this year. 37 of this year’s plans are gone, 22 are new to Harris County, and 44 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 17 of them under a new name.

HOUSTON — If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, the fall 2026 enrollment season brings a fresh set of Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) built just for you. In Harris County, where Houston sits, 23 D-SNPs will be offered for 2027 coverage, from nine carriers. Some are brand new, some have new names, and the rules for when you can switch are more flexible than most Medicare members realize.

Here is how to make sense of the lineup before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7, 2026.

What a D-SNP is, in plain language

A Dual Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed only for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Every D-SNP includes Part D drug coverage, and plans coordinate your Medicare benefits with the help you get from Texas Medicaid.

D-SNPs sit alongside two other Special Needs Plan types in Harris County for 2027: 20 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs), for people with certain long-term illnesses, and 7 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs), for people living in nursing facilities or needing that level of care. If you do not have Medicaid, a D-SNP is not for you — but a C-SNP or a regular Medicare Advantage plan may be.

The 2027 D-SNP lineup in Harris County

For 2027, nine carriers are offering D-SNPs to Houston-area residents: Aetna (CVS Health) with 4 plans, Centene (WellCare) with 3, Community Health Choice with 2, Devoted Health with 2, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 3, HealthSpring with 2, Humana with 3, Molina Healthcare of Texas with 1, and UnitedHealthcare with 3.

Several plans are new for next year, including Aetna Medicare QMB Only Care, Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Liberty, Community DualCare Access, Community DualCare Aligned, three new Wellpoint Dual Advantage Select plans from Elevance Health, HealthSpring TotalCare Plus, and UHC Dual Complete TX-Q6. Others have been renamed — for example, Aetna Medicare Full Dual Care was previously called Aetna Medicare Dual Care, and Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Access was previously Wellcare Dual Access. The table below lists every D-SNP by carrier.

A rename does not mean the plan is new to you if you are already in it — but your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), mailed in September, will spell out what is different for 2027.

Who qualifies: full vs. partial dual eligibility

To join a D-SNP, you must be enrolled in Medicare (Parts A and B) and also receive help from Texas Medicaid. The level of Medicaid help you get determines which D-SNPs you can enroll in:

• Full dual eligibility means you qualify for full Texas Medicaid benefits in addition to Medicare. Plans built for this group often have "Full Dual" in the name.
• Partial dual eligibility means Medicaid helps pay some of your Medicare costs through a Medicare Savings Program — most commonly the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, which covers your Part B premium and cost-sharing. Plans built for this group often have "QMB" or "Partial" in the name.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which runs Texas Medicaid, is the agency that confirms your category. If you are unsure, call them or 1-800-MEDICARE and ask what level of Medicaid you have on record. You cannot pick a D-SNP that does not match your category.

How often you can change plans

Here is where dual-eligible members have real flexibility. Most people with Medicare can only change Medicare Advantage plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31). But if you have Medicaid or Extra Help with Part D, you generally get an additional Special Enrollment Period.

Under current rules, dual-eligible members have a monthly opportunity to either join an integrated D-SNP that aligns with their Medicaid plan, or move back to Original Medicare paired with a stand-alone Part D drug plan. The specifics have shifted in recent years, so confirm the current rules with 1-800-MEDICARE before you act.

What this means in practice: you do not have to rush a decision by December 7. If a plan is not working, you usually have another chance next month.

How to confirm your eligibility and compare plans

Three steps that work for almost everyone:

1. Confirm your Medicaid status. Call Texas Health and Human Services at 2-1-1, or check your Your Texas Benefits account, to see what category you are in. 2. See which D-SNPs match. On medicare.gov, use the Plan Finder and filter for Special Needs Plans in ZIP codes inside Harris County. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and ask them to narrow the list to plans you qualify for. 3. Read the Evidence of Coverage. Before you enroll, look at the plan's drug list, provider network and extra benefits in its own documents. Those details are not in this article and change year to year.

What else to know for 2027

A few program-level numbers are already set for Part D in 2027: the out-of-pocket drug cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). Many dual-eligible members pay little or nothing toward drug costs because of Extra Help, but it is useful to know the ceilings.

CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium, the 2027 Part B deductible or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets; those usually come out in the fall. If you are reading this before they are posted, check medicare.gov for the update.