Medicare Advantage

Five new Medicare Advantage plans land in Honolulu for 2027 — how to check one before Dec. 7

Honolulu County has 29 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 4 plans are not coming back, 5 are new, and 13 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 3 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Honolulu, not which plan to pick.

HONOLULU — When the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15, 2026, shoppers in Honolulu County will see five Medicare Advantage plans on the 2027 lineup that were not sold here for 2026. Three carriers — Devoted Health, HMSA Akamai Advantage and UnitedHealthcare — are the ones adding them. Because these plans are brand new, they have no local track record yet, which changes how you should look at them before the December 7 deadline.

What "new for 2027" means in Honolulu County

Honolulu is in Honolulu County, where CMS sets Medicare Advantage plan availability. For 2027, five of the Medicare Advantage plans on the county's menu are brand new — meaning the exact plan contract and benefit package did not exist here in 2026. That is different from a renewing plan (one that was sold in 2026 and is coming back in 2027, usually with some tweaks) and different from a renamed plan (same underlying plan, new name).

Three carriers are introducing the new plans. The table below lists every plan available in the county; the five new ones are flagged there as well.

The five new plans, by carrier

Listed alphabetically by carrier, exactly as CMS lists them:

• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 006 HI (HMO C-SNP); with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 008 HI (HMO); with drug coverage
• HMSA Akamai Advantage — HMSA Akamai Advantage Complete Plus (PPO); with drug coverage
• HMSA Akamai Advantage — HMSA Akamai Advantage Select Plus (HMO); with drug coverage
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Dual Complete HI-YL (PPO D-SNP); with drug coverage

All five include Part D drug coverage. The plan types vary: two HMOs, one PPO, one HMO Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan (C-SNP), and one PPO Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP).

A quick note on Special Needs Plans

Two of the five new plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which only accept people who meet specific eligibility rules:

• A D-SNP (Dual Eligible) is for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• A C-SNP (Chronic Condition) is for people with a qualifying chronic condition the plan is designed around.

If you are not eligible for the SNP's category, you cannot enroll in it — even if the plan looks appealing on paper. Medicare.gov will tell you whether you qualify.

How a new plan differs from a renewing one

The practical difference is history. A renewing plan has a CMS Star Rating based on last year's performance, and current members can tell you how it worked — how claims were handled, how easy it was to get a referral, which pharmacies filled their prescriptions smoothly. A new plan has none of that yet. CMS does not assign a Star Rating to a plan until it has been offered for roughly a full plan year, so for 2027 these five plans will appear without a rating.

That is not a red flag on its own. It just means you have to lean harder on the documents the plan is required to publish — the Summary of Benefits, the Evidence of Coverage, the provider directory and the formulary (drug list) — rather than on reputation.

How to vet any plan before December 7, 2026

Whether a plan is brand new or has been around for years, the checklist is the same:

1. Go to medicare.gov and open the Plan Finder. Enter your ZIP code and your prescriptions exactly, including dose and quantity. 2. Check your doctors. Search each plan's online provider directory, and call the office to confirm they will accept the plan for 2027. Directories can lag. 3. Check your pharmacy. Preferred pharmacies often have different costs than standard ones. Mail-order may be cheaper for maintenance drugs. 4. Read the formulary. Make sure each prescription is covered and note the tier, prior authorization or step therapy rules. 5. Confirm the plan type matches how you want to get care. HMO plans generally require in-network care and often a primary care referral; PPOs allow out-of-network care, usually at a higher cost. 6. Read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) if you already have a plan. It explains what is changing for 2027 in the plan you have today.

If you want help, call 1-800-MEDICARE (available 24/7) or use the Plan Finder's chat and tools at medicare.gov.

What's confirmed for 2027 — and what's not

A few program-level 2027 figures are already set by CMS:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 (a formula input — not what any plan charges).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been published yet. CMS typically announces them later in the fall, usually in November.

If you do nothing

Nothing happens automatically. If your current plan is being offered again for 2027, you simply stay in it with the updates listed in your ANOC. If it is not returning, Medicare will send a notice and you'll have time to pick another plan. Four plans in Honolulu County are not returning for 2027, so it is worth confirming your plan is still on the list.