As compared to past years, we will only have moderate changes in the 2018 Special Needs Plan (SNP) landscape with SNP losses offset by SNP gains.

More discontinued Special Needs Plans (SNPs) in 2018
About 17% of the 2017 Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (SNPs) will be discontinued in 2018 - as compared to around 22% of the 2016 Special Needs Plans that were discontinued in 2017.

But, on the positive side ...
We will have new Medicare Advantage SNPs introduced in 2018 and with these newly released plans, we will actually see an overall 9% increase in the 2018 SNP landscape.

As background, a brief review of SNPs
Special Needs Plans are a type of Medicare Advantage plan with benefits, provider choices, and drug formularies (list of covered drugs) designed to best meet the specific needs of a particular group of people who meet certain requirements such as people suffering from a chronic condition or have limited income and assets.  Please remember that you cannot join (or remain in) a Medicare Advantage SNP unless you qualify for the plan’s “Special Need”.

SNPs are divided into three major types of special needs:

• Chronic Illness SNPs (like diabetes),
• Dual Eligible D-SNPs (for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries), and
• Institutional SNPs (for Nursing and Long Term Care (LTC) residents).

From the 2018 Medicare Advantage plan information, there are a total of 630 Special Needs Plans available in 2018, the vast majority of SNPs are designed for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

*Explanation: 16 Chronic Illness SNPs were dropped and 26 new Chronic Illness SNP were added so there is a net change of 10 additional Chronic Illness SNPs.

The chart below summarizes the 2018 Special Needs Plan landscape and how the SNP landscape has changed over the years.

 

You can learn more about the 2018 SNPs that are available in your area by using our Medicare Advantage plan finder (MA-Finder.com/2018) or add your ZIP code to the MA-Finder.com link to see plans in your area (MA-Finder.com/2018/90001).

And here is an example of all 2018 Special Needs Plans available in Allegheny County, PA.

Please note, if you are using our MA-Finder and looking for a Dual-Eligible Medicare/Medicaid SNP (D-SNP), be sure to indicate "100%" for the "LIS Subsidy Amount" to see the actual D-SNP monthly premiums for full-dual eligible Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries.

Where are the most SNPs?
As in past years, the most Special Needs Plans are available within a few counties located in New York, Florida, and California.


A further note on Chronic Illness SNPs
Medicare Advantage Chronic Illness Special Needs Plans can be further divided into the type of chronic illness that the plan is designed to address. 


* Please note that the values we see in the above table for the "Total Chronic Illness SNPs" can vary slightly from the values we have in the first table above as some Chronic Illness SNPs are designed for multiple chronic illnesses and so, these SNPs may be represented more than once in this table.

Changes with the SNP landscape
When comparing SNP reach (SNP plan multiplied by counties in the plan’s service area) we see a small overall increase in plan reach, although availability is not as widespread as it was in 2013.  There is a notable increase in both dual eligible and institutional SNPs and, in 2018 a break with the previous decreasing trend in the number of chronic illness SNPs.


You can use our MA-Finder to review all 2018 Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans available in your area (just enter your ZIP code after clicking on the link or go to MA-Finder.com to start.)

A final SNP reminder
SNPs tailor their benefits, provider choices, and drug formularies (list of covered drugs) to best meet the specific needs of the groups they serve.  Medicare SNPs limit plan membership to people with specific diseases or characteristics -- you must meet (and continue to meet) the plan's "Special Need" to be eligible for enrollment.