Medicare Advantage

HMO or PPO? Washington Medicare Advantage for 2027: 84 HMO Plans, 31 PPO

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Medicare Advantage shoppers in Washington will see a familiar structural question on their 2027 menu: HMO or PPO? According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for CY2027, the state will have 115 Medicare Advantage plans from 15 carriers, counted once statewide. By plan type, that breaks down to 64 HMO plans, 20 HMO-POS plans, and 31 PPO plans. Combining HMO and HMO-POS, the "HMO family" totals 84 plans, compared with 31 PPO plans.

Availability is county by county, so the plans listed statewide may or may not be offered where you live. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make during that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

The statewide split by type

The CMS CY2027 Landscape file shows the following for Washington, each plan counted once statewide:

• HMO: 64 plans
• HMO-POS: 20 plans
• PPO: 31 plans
• Total: 115 plans across 15 carriers

If you treat HMO and HMO-POS together as the broader "HMO family," 84 of Washington's 115 plans sit on that side, and 31 are PPOs. The full plan and carrier lists appear in the tables on this page; the sections below reference them without repeating every entry.

What HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS mean

These are plan "types," and they describe how a plan handles networks, referrals and out-of-network care.

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): Care is organized around an in-network set of doctors and hospitals. Many HMOs ask you to pick a primary care provider and get referrals to see specialists. Out-of-network care is generally not covered except for emergencies and urgent care.
• HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option): An HMO that allows some defined out-of-network services, typically under specific rules spelled out in the plan documents.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): You can use in-network providers or go out of network, usually at a different cost share. Referrals are typically not required.
• PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service): A separate plan type that sets its own terms for provider payment. Washington's 2027 Landscape file for the plan types above does not list PFFS carriers in this block, so Washington shoppers choosing among the plans here will be comparing HMO, HMO-POS and PPO.

The specifics — which doctors are in network, what referrals look like, what out-of-network use costs — live in each plan's Evidence of Coverage and provider directory, not in a statewide summary.

Which carriers offer each type in 2027

From the CMS CY2027 Landscape file for Washington:

• Carriers offering HMO plans: Aetna (CVS Health), AgeRight Advantage, Community Health Plan of WA Medicare Advantage, Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), HealthSpring, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of Washington, Inc., MultiCare Health Plan Medicare Advantage Evergreen Plans, Regence BlueShield, and SCAN Health Plan.
• Carriers offering HMO-POS plans: Centene (WellCare), Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare.
• Carriers offering PPO plans: Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Humana, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueShield, and UnitedHealthcare.

A few carriers appear on more than one list. Aetna (CVS Health), Devoted Health and Humana offer both HMO and PPO plans in Washington for 2027. Kaiser Permanente appears on the HMO and HMO-POS lists. Centene (WellCare) and UnitedHealthcare appear on both the HMO-POS and PPO lists. Regence BlueShield appears on the HMO and PPO lists, and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon is listed among PPO carriers serving parts of Washington.

Being on a statewide list does not mean a carrier offers every plan type in every county. Confirm local availability before you compare.

How to decide which type fits your doctors and travel

Plan "type" is a structural question. A few prompts can narrow it down:

• Your doctors. Write down the providers and hospitals you want to keep. In HMO and HMO-POS plans, keeping them generally depends on their being in-network. In PPO plans, out-of-network use is typically allowed under different terms.
• Referrals. If you prefer to self-refer to specialists, note that HMOs commonly use referrals and PPOs typically do not. Check the plan documents to be sure.
• Travel. If you spend significant time out of state or outside your plan's service area, ask how the plan treats non-emergency care away from home. Rules vary by plan type and by plan.
• Pharmacies and prescriptions. Drug coverage, pharmacy networks and formularies vary plan by plan; look them up on Medicare's Plan Finder rather than inferring them from plan type.

Type narrows the field. The particulars still come from each plan's own documents.

What to do before December 7

Between October 15 and December 7, 2026:

1. Confirm which plans are actually offered in your county for 2027. 2. Read the Annual Notice of Change if you are already enrolled in a 2026 plan. 3. Check each plan's provider directory and formulary against your own doctors and prescriptions. 4. Compare on Medicare's Plan Finder, where premiums, cost shares, benefits and star ratings are published alongside each plan. 5. Enroll by December 7, 2026 for a January 1, 2027 effective date.

There is no need to rush. The dates are the dates.

Free help

For unbiased, no-cost help:

• Medicare.gov — Use the Plan Finder to see which plans are available in your ZIP code and to compare specifics side by side.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Both are federal resources and are not tied to any carrier.