D-SNPs and default enrollment letters in Brooklyn

Brooklyn appears on Medicare and Medicaid paperwork as Kings County, which surprises people who have lived in Flatbush or Bensonhurst their whole lives and never once said “Kings.” If a form or a counselor asks for your county, that is the answer. Every integrated dual plan on the state’s 2026 IB-Dual chart that serves the city lists Kings County, so the letter a Brooklyn resident gets is usually offering a plan that covers the entire borough.

Brooklyn’s dual-eligible population is large and, in many neighborhoods, older and non-English-speaking. Default enrollment notices are sent in the plan’s standard languages, and the phone lines listed on them generally have interpreters. If a family member is helping, the plan may ask the member to give permission on the call before it will discuss the letter with anyone else.

This hub does not recommend any plan or company. It explains the mechanics so that you can ask better questions of HIICAP, New York Medicaid Choice, and your own plan.

Medicaid in Brooklyn is administered by the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), the same agency that handles the other four boroughs. There is no Kings County Department of Social Services. For questions about Medicaid eligibility, renewals, or address changes, Brooklyn residents use the HRA Medicaid Helpline; HRA’s Brooklyn Medicaid office locations are listed on nyc.gov/hra.

HIICAP is the free, unbiased Medicare counseling program. When you call the statewide line it asks for your county, so say “Brooklyn” or “Kings.” Inside the city, NYC Aging runs the program, and Aging Connect can route you to a counselor. NYC Aging’s citywide listing shows Brooklyn community counseling sites in Homecrest (two locations, one on Avenue T and one on New Utrecht Avenue), Coney Island, and downtown near Atlantic Avenue.

New York Medicaid Choice is the state’s enrollment broker for Medicaid managed care and Managed Long Term Care. Call them if you want to opt out of default enrollment and are not sure how, if you want to know whether a Medicaid Advantage Plus (MAP) plan is offered where you live, or if you need to understand what happens to your Medicaid plan after your Medicare begins.

Brooklyn has more hospitals and clinic systems than most U.S. cities, and many residents have long relationships with one of them. Before the effective date on your default enrollment letter, confirm whether your hospital of choice and your specialists are in the D-SNP’s Medicare network. If you receive home care, also ask whether your notice is the long-term-services (MAP) version or the standard (IB-Dual) version, because the two point to different Medicaid products.