Medicare Advantage

HMO or PPO? New Hampshire Medicare Advantage for 2027: 6 HMO Plans, 14 PPO

CONCORD, N.H. — When New Hampshire residents open the Medicare Plan Finder this fall to shop for coverage that starts January 1, 2027, they will see a Medicare Advantage menu that leans heavily toward one plan type. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for CY2027, the state will have 20 Medicare Advantage plans offered by 3 carriers, and 14 of those 20 are PPO plans. The remaining 6 are HMO-style plans — 3 traditional HMOs and 3 HMO-POS plans.

That split matters because HMO and PPO plans handle networks, referrals, and out-of-network care differently. Here is what the 2027 landscape looks like statewide, what each plan type means, and how to think it through before the Annual Enrollment 2027 window closes on December 7, 2026.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in New Hampshire for 2027, and how do they split between HMO and PPO?

New Hampshire has 20 Medicare Advantage plans available statewide for 2027, offered by 3 carriers, with 14 PPO plans and 6 HMO-style plans (3 HMO and 3 HMO-POS), per the CMS Landscape Source File for CY2027. That means PPOs account for 70% of the statewide menu and HMO-style plans for 30%.

The full plan-by-plan list is rendered as a table elsewhere on this page. Keep in mind that CMS counts each plan once at the state level, but Medicare Advantage is sold county by county — a plan listed here may or may not be offered in your town.

What do HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS mean for networks, referrals and out-of-network care?

In Medicare Advantage, the plan type tells you how the network works. An HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) generally requires you to use in-network doctors and hospitals except in emergencies, and may require a referral to see a specialist. An HMO-POS (Point of Service) is an HMO with a limited "point of service" option to go outside the network for certain services, usually at a higher cost share. A PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) lets you see both in-network and out-of-network providers who accept the plan, typically with a lower cost share in-network and a higher one out-of-network, and usually without referrals. A PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service) plan pays providers under its own terms and lets you see any Medicare provider willing to accept those terms; no PFFS plans appear in New Hampshire's 2027 statewide list.

Specific rules — including whether a given HMO requires referrals or how a PPO treats out-of-network care — vary plan by plan and are spelled out in each plan's Evidence of Coverage.

Which carriers offer HMO, HMO-POS and PPO plans in New Hampshire for 2027?

Three carriers make up New Hampshire's 2027 Medicare Advantage market: Devoted Health, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. By plan type, the CMS CY2027 file shows Humana offering HMO plans; UnitedHealthcare offering HMO-POS plans; and Devoted Health, Humana and UnitedHealthcare each offering PPO plans.

If a particular plan type is important to you, that mapping narrows the search quickly. A reader set on a traditional HMO in 2027 will be looking at Humana; a reader who wants HMO-POS flexibility will be looking at UnitedHealthcare; and a reader focused on PPOs has all three carriers to compare. The plans and carriers table on this page lists each contract by name.

How do I decide which plan type fits my doctors and travel in New Hampshire for 2027?

Start with two questions: which doctors and hospitals do you want to keep, and how often do you travel outside New Hampshire? Those two answers do more to narrow HMO versus PPO than anything else.

If your providers are all local and already in a given plan's network, an HMO or HMO-POS can be a comfortable fit. If you split time between New Hampshire and another state, see specialists at an out-of-state medical center, or simply want the option to go out of network without needing to switch plans, a PPO's out-of-network benefits may matter more to you. Either way, confirm each specific doctor, hospital and prescription on the plan's own directory and formulary — network status can change year to year, and the Evidence of Coverage is the controlling document.

The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your ZIP code, your doctors and your drugs and see which 2027 plans are offered where you live.

What should New Hampshire residents do before December 7, 2026?

Before December 7, 2026, review your current coverage against the 2027 options for your county and make any change you want to take effect January 1, 2027. That is the Annual Enrollment 2027 deadline set by CMS.

A practical checklist: read the Annual Notice of Change your current plan mails in September 2026; list your doctors, hospitals and prescriptions; run those through the Medicare Plan Finder for your ZIP code; and compare plan types with the HMO/PPO split in mind. If you are satisfied with your current plan, no action is required — it will continue if the carrier is renewing it in your county.

Where can New Hampshire residents get free help choosing a 2027 Medicare Advantage plan?

Free, unbiased help is available directly from Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and online at medicare.gov. Both are run by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and cost nothing to use.

The Plan Finder at medicare.gov is the official tool for seeing which of New Hampshire's 20 plans for 2027 are offered in your county, filtering by HMO, HMO-POS or PPO, and checking doctors and drugs plan by plan.