Medicare Advantage

Your Honolulu ANOC checklist: what to read before Dec. 7 for 2027 coverage

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 — The Annual Notice of Change letters are landing in Oahu mailboxes right now, and they are the single most important piece of paper your Medicare plan will send you all year. The notice tells you exactly how your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan will change on January 1, 2027 — the premium, the drug list, the pharmacy and provider network, the copays. If you do nothing, your plan renews with those changes baked in. If you want something different, you have until December 7, 2026 to switch.

Here is a plain-English checklist for working through your ANOC and comparing it against the Honolulu County lineup before the deadline.

What is an Annual Notice of Change and why does it matter in Honolulu?

An ANOC is the yearly letter your Medicare Advantage or standalone Part D plan sends out in September, showing what will be different about the plan on January 1. It is paired with the Evidence of Coverage (EOC), the longer rulebook. Together they are how your insurer tells you — in writing, before the deadline — that your premium, your drug tiers, your provider network, your prior-authorization rules or your extra benefits are changing.

For Honolulu readers, this matters because so much Oahu care runs through a small set of hospital systems and medical groups. A quiet network change inside your ANOC can mean the primary care clinic or specialist you've seen for years is out-of-network next year, even though your plan name hasn't changed.

What should I check in my ANOC before December 7, 2026?

Work through it with a pen. Six things to confirm for 2027:

1. Monthly premium and deductible. Compare the 2026 number on the left column to the 2027 number on the right. Note any plan-level deductible, and the drug deductible separately. 2. Your doctors and clinics. Pull the 2027 provider directory (not the 2026 one) from the plan's website or ask them to mail it. Search each doctor by name and confirm the Honolulu office location is listed. 3. Your hospital. Confirm your preferred Oahu hospital is still in-network for 2027, and check whether any specialists you see there are affiliated under the plan's new contract. 4. Every prescription. Open the 2027 formulary and look up each drug by name and dose. Note the tier, any new prior authorization, any step therapy, and whether the quantity limit changed. 5. Your pharmacy. Preferred vs. standard pharmacy status can shift year to year, and that moves your copay. 6. Extra benefits. Dental, vision, hearing, OTC and transportation allowances change often. Read what the dollar amount actually covers in 2027, not just whether the benefit exists.

If anything on that list no longer works for you, that is your signal to compare other plans before December 7.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are available in Honolulu County for 2027?

Honolulu is in Honolulu County, where 28 Medicare Advantage plans from 8 carriers are offered under the 2026 CMS Landscape file — 9 HMOs, 1 HMO-POS and 18 PPOs, with 25 of those including drug coverage and 8 structured as Special Needs Plans. The 2027 lineup for the county becomes visible on Medicare Plan Finder during the enrollment window; the carriers active in the county are AlohaCare, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, HMSA Akamai Advantage, HMSA Akamai Advantage Dual Care, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan by carrier.

Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, C-SNPs for specific chronic conditions) have their own eligibility rules — if you qualify for one, it is worth asking about.

What 2027 Medicare numbers are already confirmed?

Two Part D figures are locked in by CMS for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026). Once your covered drug spending hits that cap, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Individual plans may charge less.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those in the fall, usually in November — watch medicare.gov rather than relying on any estimate circulating online.

One other tool to know about: the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across monthly bills instead of paying them at the pharmacy counter. It's optional and you can opt in through your Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.

Where should I compare plans and get personal answers?

Three official places, free to use:

• Medicare.gov Plan Finder. Enter your ZIP, your drugs and your pharmacy. The tool shows every Honolulu County plan side by side with 2027 details once the window opens.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A representative can walk you through the options for your county.
• Your plan's member services line. The number is printed on your member ID card and on the ANOC itself. Use it to confirm specific doctors and drugs for 2027 before you decide to stay.

If you take no action by December 7, 2026, your current plan simply renews for 2027 with the changes in your ANOC. If you do switch, the new coverage starts January 1, 2027. There is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 – March 31, 2027 that gives Advantage enrollees one chance to change plans or return to Original Medicare.