Rego Park: D-SNPs, IB-Dual, and the “default enrollment” letter

Rego Park is a neighborhood of apartment towers and co-ops along Queens Boulevard and 63rd Drive where a lot of people age in place. Many residents have had Medicaid managed care for years and are now turning 65 or reaching the two-year mark on Social Security disability, which is when Medicare starts and the “default enrollment” letter arrives. Others already have both Medicare and Medicaid and are trying to figure out whether a D-SNP, IB-Dual, or a Medicaid Advantage Plus plan is what they actually have.

This page is for those people and for the adult children, home attendants, and building neighbors who help them read the mail. It explains what the letter is asking, what changes if you do nothing, what changes if you opt out, and how to get a free counselor on the phone from Rego Park. It does not decide anything about your coverage and it does not enroll you in anything.

For Medicare and Medicaid purposes, Rego Park is in Queens County, and Medicaid here is run by the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), not by a county office. ZIP code 11374 covers most of Rego Park (approximate; verify with USPS), and the neighborhood sits between Forest Hills to the east and Elmhurst to the west along Queens Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway. If a form asks for your county, write “Queens.”

Every New York City integrated dual plan on the state Department of Health’s 2026 IB-Dual chart lists Queens County in its service area, so the plan named on a Rego Park resident’s default enrollment letter almost certainly covers your building. What differs is the Medicare network: the primary care practice on 63rd Drive or Woodhaven Boulevard that takes your Medicaid plan today may or may not be in the same company’s D-SNP. That is a plan-by-plan question, and it is exactly what a HIICAP counselor can check with you.

Rego Park does not have a hospital inside its borders. The closest large hospital is Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, a short ride east on Queens Boulevard, and NYC Health + Hospitals / Elmhurst is a few stops west on the M or R train. Those two names are worth checking in any D-SNP’s provider directory, along with your pharmacy.

Rego Park letters tend to arrive in buildings where the mailroom is busy and the envelope looks like every other plan mailing. If your Medicaid plan is one of the companies that also runs a Medicare D-SNP in Queens, and you are about to get Medicare, expect a notice at least 60 days before your Medicare start date. Look for two dates on it: the day your Medicare (and the D-SNP) would begin, and the last day you can opt out, which is generally the day before.

One Rego Park-specific check: many residents here see specialists in Forest Hills or in Manhattan and fill prescriptions at a chain pharmacy on Queens Boulevard. Before the effective date, confirm that those specific providers are in the D-SNP’s Medicare network and that the pharmacy is in the plan’s Part D network. If they are not, that is the moment to talk to HIICAP about your options, not after the plan has started.