Hawaii's Largest Insurer Is Ending Two Medicare Advantage PPO Plans, Requiring 16,000 Seniors to Choose New Coverage Before December 7

Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), the state's largest health insurer, announced it will close two Medicare Advantage PPO plans at the end of 2026 and reopen them under new terms. The affected plans are Akamai Advantage Complete Plus on Oahu and Akamai Advantage Standard Plus on the neighbor islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kauai. Both will formally end December 31, 2026.

Roughly 16,000 members currently enrolled in those two plans must actively choose a new plan during the Medicare annual enrollment period, which runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Unlike most Medicare Advantage members who are automatically re-enrolled if they take no action, these members will need to select coverage before the December 7 deadline or risk losing their benefits on January 1, 2027.

HMSA will offer replacement PPO plans carrying the same Akamai Advantage names with similar comprehensive benefits. The insurer is also introducing a new lower-cost HMO option, Akamai Advantage Select Plus, available to eligible Oahu residents beginning January 1, 2027.

Members enrolled in other HMSA Medicare Advantage plans, including Complete, Standard, and employer group waiver plans, are not affected by these changes and will be automatically re-enrolled for 2027.

Affected members have until December 7 to compare plan options, including verifying whether their current providers are in-network under any new plan and reviewing changes to drug coverage.