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

Ridgewood is a neighborhood of century-old brick rowhouses and six-family walk-ups stretching from the Brooklyn line along Wyckoff Avenue out to Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue. Many older residents have been in the same apartment for decades, and the neighborhood has both long-time Medicaid managed care members reaching Medicare age and older adults who added Medicaid after retirement to cover home care. Both groups get plan mail that is hard to read.

This page is for Ridgewood residents who received a default enrollment letter from a Medicaid plan, who already have a D-SNP and want to understand IB-Dual or Medicaid Advantage Plus, or who are helping a parent on Seneca Avenue or Forest Avenue with the paperwork. It explains what the letter means and who to call for free, and enrolls no one in anything.

Ridgewood is in Queens County even though ZIP 11385 straddles the Queens and Brooklyn line and much of daily life, from shopping on Myrtle Avenue to hospital visits, crosses into Bushwick. Medicaid is administered citywide by the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA), so the borough line does not change which agency you call, but it does change what you write: in any county box, write “Queens,” not “Kings.”

The nearest hospital, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on Stockholm Street, sits on the Bushwick side of the line. That does not affect your coverage; what matters is whether it and its clinics are in a specific D-SNP’s Medicare network. NYC Health + Hospitals / Elmhurst is the closest public hospital in Queens, reachable by bus.

The M train runs above Myrtle Avenue with stops at Seneca Avenue, Forest Avenue, and Fresh Pond Road. Ridgewood is farther from the four Queens HIICAP sites than most neighborhoods, so many residents will find phone counseling easier.

Ridgewood’s default enrollment letters are the same as anywhere in the city: sent by your own Medicaid plan at least 60 days before Medicare starts, naming the plan’s D-SNP and an effective date, with opt-out by calling or writing the plan (New York Medicaid Choice can connect you). What is different here is the risk of a county mix-up. If your Medicaid file lists Kings County, call HRA to correct it before the effective date.

Many Ridgewood residents fill prescriptions on the Bushwick side of Myrtle Avenue. Pharmacy networks do not care about the borough line, but they do care about the plan, so confirm your pharmacy is in the D-SNP’s Part D network before the plan starts.