What Is a Dual Plan?

A dual plan combines your Medicare and Medicaid

A Dual Special Needs Plan, often written as D-SNP, is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. People with both are called dual eligible. Instead of juggling two programs, a dual plan brings them together into one plan that works as a team.

Most dual plans have a $0 monthly premium. On top of your regular Medicare coverage, many add extras that Original Medicare does not include, such as a monthly card for groceries and over the counter items, dental, vision, hearing, and rides to and from your medical visits. What a plan offers depends on the plan and the county you live in, and the extras apply to members who are eligible.

You keep your Medicaid

Joining a dual plan does not take away your Medicaid. Your Medicaid stays in place and the dual plan coordinates your Medicare benefits alongside it. Prescription drug coverage, known as Part D, is built in, and for many members medications cost very little.

How to find out what you can get

Dual plans are sold county by county, so the plans near you may differ from the plans a friend has in another state. The easiest way to see what is available where you live is to speak with a licensed agent. It is free and there is no obligation.