How To Choose A Medicare Advantage Plan In Hawaii
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To choose a Medicare Advantage plan in Hawaii, you need to consider a few things. Plans will have differing flexibility and costs. You may have to find a new doctor with some plans. You may be looking for additional benefits such as prescription drug coverage, dental care, vision care, or hearing care. What do you value in a health insurance plan? The answer may help guide your decision.
Medicare Advantage in Hawaii
There are over 280,000 Medicare beneficiaries living in Hawaii. To help serve that large population of people, there are enough Medicare Advantage plans to give you a choice of between six and 20 different plans, depending on which county you live in. Just over 45% of Hawaii Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. That makes these plans more popular than the national average, where around 34% of people are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.
Available Medicare Advantage Plans
There are 26 Medicare Advantage plans in Hawaii that have Part D prescription drug coverage. Among these are offerings from Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, HMSA Akamai Advantage, AlohaCare, and WellCare, in order from 5 stars to 3 stars according to current U.S. News & World Report ratings.
There are four Medicare Advantage plans available that do not have prescription drug coverage. These are from UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and Lasso Healthcare, which is not yet rated.
You may not be able to choose from each of these plans, but your county should have several available plans to choose from.
Medicare Advantage Plan Types
Available now in Hawaii are HMOs, PPOs, and MSA plans.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans contract with a network of healthcare providers to bring you discounted rates for covered services. You have to have a primary care provider and need to have referrals to see a specialist under an HMO. You must receive your care from providers within the network except in emergencies.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans also use a network of healthcare providers but offer more flexibility. These plans do not require you to have a primary care provider, and in most cases, you do not need a referral to see a specialist. You can receive care from healthcare providers outside of the plan’s network but will pay more in out-of-pocket expenses for this care.
Medical Savings Account (MSA) plans are high-deductible plans which give you access to a savings account with money from Medicare each year. Unspent money is rolled over to the next year. You can use this money to pay for your healthcare expenses and qualified medical expenses as defined by the IRS. Withdrawals for non-healthcare expenses will be taxed as income.
Choosing a Medicare Advantage Plan
Selecting a Medicare Advantage plan can be difficult, but with the help of Proinsurance Hawaii, you will be able to find your perfect match. The best part about Medicare Advantage is that plan contracts are renewable every year. If you decide you are not happy with your current plan, you can easily find a better plan and switch during the Annual Enrollment Period from October 15‒December 7 or Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment from January 1‒March 31.
Our skilled agents can help you choose the plan which has the coverage you need and fits your budget. Contact us today for personalized assistance.
