Best Medicare Advantage Plans in Hawaii (2027)

Humana, UnitedHealthcare and Kaiser Permanente provide the best Medicare Advantage plans in Hawaii. Each has at least 4 of 5 stars from CMS, the federal agency that grades Medicare plans on care quality and member service.

Max annual cost exposure is your worst-case yearly bill, which is 12 months of premiums plus the plan’s out-of-pocket maximum. In Hawaii, better-rated carriers mostly cost less. Humana and UnitedHealthcare cost less than both 3-star carriers.

Kaiser is the exception. Its 4.5-star plans cost $2,036 more than Humana’s in a heavy-use year. Pick Kaiser if that quality is worth the price. Otherwise, start with Humana, or UnitedHealthcare in Hawaii County, where Humana doesn’t sell.

Hawaii’s Medicare Advantage market is large statewide but small by county, with 34 plans for 2027 and a median of 18 in any one county. Medicare Advantage plans are private plans you join in place of Original Medicare, the government-run Part A hospital and Part B medical coverage.

The alternative is to keep Original Medicare and add a Medicare Supplement plan, also called Medigap.

A $0 premium tells you little in Hawaii. Most plans charge no premium, yet the median out-of-pocket maximum (MOOP), the most you’d pay for in-network care in a year, is $7,150. Compare out-of-pocket maximums before premiums.

Network access is the first filter. An HMO won’t pay for doctors outside its network except in emergencies, so a low premium can’t make up for losing your doctors. After that, multiply the monthly premium by 12 and add the out-of-pocket maximum. The total shows the most a plan can cost you in a year.

Most Hawaii Medicare Advantage plans charge no monthly premium for 2027, and HMOs and PPOs share a $7,150 median out-of-pocket maximum. An HMO covers only in-network doctors except in emergencies. A PPO also pays for out-of-network care.

So a PPO’s freedom barely adds cost until you’re hospitalized. PPO hospital copays run $80 a day higher at the median, about $320 more for a four-day stay, since every Hawaii plan charges for at least the first four days.

Choose a PPO if your doctors span networks. Otherwise, an HMO keeps a hospital stay cheaper.

*Median cost figures across all 34 non-SNP Hawaii MA plans, grouped by plan type. All dollar figures rounded to nearest dollar. Source: CMS 2027 data, MoneyGeek analysis.

Hawaii and federal agencies offer free plan comparisons and enrollment help, plus a place to file complaints.

• Hawaii State Health Insurance Assistance Program (Hawaii SHIP): Hawaii’s free Medicare counseling program pairs you with a trained volunteer who can compare plans and costs with you.
• Hawaii Insurance Division: The state regulator for all insurance carriers operating in Hawaii. Use it to verify a carrier's license, file a complaint about a plan or confirm a company is authorized to sell in the state.
• Medicare Plan Finder: CMS's official comparison tool for Medicare Advantage plans in your county. Filter by premium, estimated annual costs, star ratings and supplemental benefits. You'll need your ZIP code and Medicare number to personalize results.
• Social Security Administration: Handles Medicare enrollment for beneficiaries approaching 65. Apply online, call 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office. You need both Part A and Part B before joining any Medicare Advantage plan.
• Hawaii Executive Office on Aging: Connects seniors and people with disabilities with local benefits counseling, Medicare enrollment assistance and long-term care resources across all Hawaii counties.

For the 2027 plan year, MoneyGeek evaluated Medicare Advantage carriers in Hawaii’s five counties using five CMS data sources: the Medicare Plan Landscape File, Plan Benefit Package files, CMS Star Ratings, the CAHPS Report Card Master Table and the Contract/Plan Enrollment file.   

The ratings include 34 non-SNP plans from 5 carriers across 8 CMS contracts. Special Needs Plans are not rated. To qualify, a carrier had to serve at least three Hawaii counties and have complete data across all three scoring categories.

The ratings include 34 non-SNP plans from five carriers across eight CMS contracts. Special Needs Plans aren’t rated. To qualify, a carrier had to serve at least three Hawaii counties and have complete data across all three scoring categories.

How We Score Carriers

Each eligible carrier receives an overall MoneyGeek score out of five, based on a weighted average of three categories:   

• Affordability (40%): Affordability scores are based on maximum annual cost exposure (annual premiums plus the out-of-pocket maximum), inpatient hospital costs, specialist costs and primary care costs.
• Quality and Member Experience (40%): CMS Star Ratings account for 60% of this score and CAHPS Rating of Health Plan scores account for the remaining 40%. Both are pulled from contract-level data.
• Benefits and Access (20%): Supplemental benefits, including dental, OTC, vision and hearing, account for 50% of this category. County coverage is 30% and plan choice per county is 20%.