Medicare Advantage

Sorting Through Medicare in Honolulu: A 2027 Guide

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 County Medicare options for 2027: plan counts, key dates, and Part D figures to help you compare during Annual Enrollment.

HONOLULU — If you're turning 65 soon or already on Medicare and living on Oahu, you have real choices to make this fall. Honolulu is in Honolulu County, where 26 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2027, according to CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape data. That's a healthy menu — but more options can also mean more decision fatigue. Here's a plain-language look at how to think through it.

How many Medicare options are in Honolulu County?

For 2027, CMS lists 26 Medicare Advantage plans available to people living in Honolulu County, down from 28 in 2026. Seven carriers offer Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD) in the area. Five plans are new, four are not returning, and three have been renamed; ten continuing plans change something in their terms, and those details are in each plan's Annual Notice of Change. That's the count of what's on the shelf — not a ranking, and not a recommendation. Your job is to figure out which of those fits your doctors, your prescriptions, and your budget.

CMS data also shows zero stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans listed for Honolulu County in 2027. That's worth pausing on, because it changes the math for anyone who wants to stick with Original Medicare. We'll get to that below.

For context, roughly 195,878 people age 65 and older live in Honolulu County, so plan availability and carrier competition here reflect a large, established Medicare population.

What the "28 plans" number really means

Twenty-eight isn't 28 completely different products. Carriers often offer several versions of a plan — different networks, different drug formularies, different extras. So when you sit down at medicare.gov's Plan Finder and see a long list, know that:

• Some plans will include your primary doctor's network; others won't.
• Some will cover your specific prescriptions on better tiers; others won't.
• Some are HMOs (you pick a primary care doctor and get referrals); some are PPOs (more flexibility, usually higher costs out of network).

The right number of plans to seriously compare is usually three to five — the ones that actually match your doctors and medications.

What to do if you want Original Medicare plus drug coverage

Because CMS shows no stand-alone Part D plans listed in Honolulu County for 2027, people who prefer Original Medicare (Parts A and B) will want to check current medicare.gov listings carefully when the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15, 2026. Part D availability can shift year to year, and the Plan Finder tool at medicare.gov is the official source for what's offered at your ZIP code.

If drug coverage is a priority, this is a good year to talk with a SHIP counselor (Hawaii's State Health Insurance Assistance Program) about your options before you decide between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

About Star Ratings in the area

Medicare uses a 1-to-5 Star Rating system to measure plan quality on things like customer service, member complaints, and preventive care. Ratings can change each year, and they're one data point among many — not a substitute for checking whether a plan covers your doctors and drugs.

Key dates and dollar figures for 2027

Mark these on the calendar:

• October 15 – December 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you're already in an MA plan, you get one chance to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare.
• $2,400: The Part D out-of-pocket cap for covered drugs in 2027.
• $700: The maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge in 2027.
• $109,000: The income threshold (single filer) where IRMAA surcharges begin in 2026.

Also new since 2025: the old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone. Part D now has three phases, and there's an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly amounts instead of paying a big bill at the pharmacy counter.

How to narrow 28 plans down to one

A practical order of operations:

1. List your doctors and medications. Include dosages for each prescription. 2. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare. Enter your ZIP code and your drug list. The tool will show which plans cover your medications and at what tier. 3. Check networks. Call your doctor's office and ask which Medicare Advantage plans they accept for 2027 — don't rely only on plan directories. 4. Think about travel. If you spend part of the year off-island or on the mainland, a PPO may serve you better than an HMO. 5. Ask for help. Hawaii SHIP counselors give free, unbiased guidance. They don't sell anything.