Key takeaways
- Roughly 295,000 residents are enrolled in Medicare in Hawaii.
- More than half of Hawaii Medicare beneficiaries opt for coverage from private Medicare Advantage plans.
- Hawaii residents can select from between eight and 26 Medicare Advantage plans in 2023, depending on their county.
- Eleven insurers offer Medigap plans in Hawaii.
- Hawaii law ensures that enrollees under age 65 have the same access to Medigap plans as those 65+.
- More than 217,000 Hawaii Medicare beneficiaries have Medicare Part D prescription coverage; the majority have Part D coverage via Medicare Advantage plans.
How many Hawaii residents are enrolled in Medicare?
As of October 2022, 295,344 Hawaii residents — 20% of the state’s population — were enrolled in Medicare.
Medicare options
Medicare, a healthcare insurance program for older and disabled Americans, operates under the guidance of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). CMS is part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Medicare beneficiaries can choose to receive their benefits directly from the federal government via Original Medicare — along with supplemental coverage for prescriptions and out-of-pocket costs — or enroll in private Medicare Advantage plans.
Original Medicare includes Medicare Parts A and B. Medicare Part A (also called hospital insurance) helps pay for inpatient stays, like at a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or hospice center. Medicare Part B (also called medical insurance) helps pay for outpatient care like a visit to a nurse practitioner, doctor, or physician assistant and preventive healthcare service, such as most vaccinations).
Medicare Advantage includes all of the basic coverage of Medicare Parts A and B, and these plans generally include additional benefits — such as integrated Part D prescription drug coverage and extras like dental and vision — for a single monthly premium. But members of Medicare Advantage plans may be required to use a limited provider network for the Medicare plan they select, and total out-of-pocket costs (like deductibles, co-payments, or co-insurance) may be higher than they would be under Original Medicare plus a Medigap plan. There are pros and cons to either option, and no single solution that works for everyone.
- Read our guide to Medicare’s open enrollment period.
- Understand the difference between Medigap, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D (including tips for picking the best coverage combination to meet your needs).
For most Americans, filing for Medicare is part of turning 65. But Medicare coverage is also available to people under the age of 65 who have been receiving disability benefits for at least two years, or who have ALS or end-stage renal disease. Nationwide, 88% of Medicare beneficiaries are eligible due to being at least 65 years old, while the other 12% are under 65.
Hawaii has the smallest percentage of disabled Medicare beneficiaries of any state in the country; less than 7% of Hawaii Medicare beneficiaries are under age 65. The other 93% of Hawaii’s Medicare beneficiaries have age-related eligibility.
Medicare Advantage in Hawaii
Nationwide, about 46% of Medicare beneficiaries have private Medicare Advantage plans. But Hawaii is among a handful of states where the majority of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Advantage plans. As of August 2022, about 52% of Hawaii Medicare beneficiaries had Advantage plans, and only 48% had Original Medicare.
Hawaii has five counties, and the availability of Medicare Advantage plans varies by county. In Honolulu County for 2023, Medicare beneficiaries can select from among 26 different Medicare Advantage plans. But in tiny Kalawao County (which had just 86 residents as of 2019), there are only eight Medicare Advantage plans offered. (It’s noteworthy that in some low-population areas in other states there are no Medicare Advantage plans available at all.)
Medicare Advantage enrollment is available when a person is first eligible for Medicare, and there’s also an annual enrollment period in the fall when beneficiaries can enroll in Medicare Advantage plans if they choose to do so. And there is another window — the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period (January 1 to March 31) — during which people who are already enrolled in Medicare Advantage can change to a different Medicare Advantage plan or drop their Medicare Advantage plan and enroll in Original Medicare instead.
Medigap in Hawaii
Medigap plans are used to supplement Original Medicare, covering some or all of the out-of-pocket costs (for coinsurance and deductibles) that people would otherwise incur if they only had Original Medicare on its own.
As of 2022, there are 11 insurers offering Medigap plans in Hawaii.
Medigap plans are standardized under federal rules, although states can add their own regulations. Hawaii’s Medigap regulations are available here.
The state also requires (see §16-12-6.2) all Medigap insurers to offer all plans on a guaranteed-issue basis (and without adjusting premiums based on medical underwriting) to any enrollee during the six-month window that begins when the person is enrolled in Medicare Part B. This applies regardless of age in Hawaii. Federal law grants a six-month guaranteed-issue open enrollment window, but only when people are enrolled in Part B and also age 65. So Hawaii’s law extends the same protections to people who are under 65 and eligible for Medicare as a result of a disability. As noted above, Medicare in Hawaii has the nation’s lowest percentage of beneficiaries who are eligible due to a disability.
The majority of the states have adopted rules to ensure at least some access to Medigap plans for enrollees under the age of 65, but unlike most of them, Hawaii also prohibits Medigap insurers from charging higher premiums for people under the age of 65, based on their disability. So while it’s common to see under-65 Medigap policies sold in other states with premiums that are well above the age-65 premiums, that’s not the case in Hawaii.
And Hawaii lawmakers are considering legislation in 2023 that would take the state’s Medigap consumer protections even further. H.B.539/S.B.64, both in committee as of early 2023, would require Medigap insurers to make their products guaranteed-issue year-round, regardless of a person’s medical history. Under federal rules, Medicare beneficiaries can apply for a Medigap plan at any time, but medical underwriting can be used if the person’s initial six-month enrollment window has ended. Hawaii ensures that people get that six-month window even if they’re under 65. But H.B.539 and S.B.64 would eliminate medical underwriting altogether for Hawaii’s Medigap plans. As of 2023, only New York and Connecticut offer this level of guaranteed-issue Medigap protections.
Hawaii Medicare Part D
Outpatient prescription drugs are not covered by Original Medicare. However, Medicare beneficiaries can get coverage for prescription drugs via a Medicare Advantage plan that includes integrated Medicare Part D coverage, an employer-sponsored plan (offered by a current or former employer), or a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (a Medicare PDP).
There is widespread availability of Medicare Part D plans in Hawaii. For 2023 coverage, insurers are offering 20 stand-alone plans, with premiums ranging from $6 to $106 per month.
As of October 2022, there were 70,828 people with Medicare in Hawaii who were covered by stand-alone Medicare Part D plans. Another 147,032 beneficiaries had Medicare Part D coverage integrated with their Medicare Advantage plans, so the majority of Part D coverage in Hawaii is provided via Medicare Advantage plans as opposed to stand-alone Medicare Part D plans (most Medicare Advantage plans include Part D coverage; stand-alone Medicare Part D plans are usually used to supplement Original Medicare, since it never includes prescription coverage).
Medicare Part D enrollment is an option when a person first submits their Medicare application in Hawaii, or when they lose access to other creditable drug coverage (e.g., they retire and lose the drug coverage that they had when employed). The annual open enrollment period that runs from October 15 to December 7 each year is also an opportunity for Medicare beneficiaries to sign up for a Part D plan or switch to a different Part D plan.
How does Medicaid provide financial assistance to Medicare beneficiaries in Hawaii?
Many Medicare beneficiaries receive financial assistance through Medicaid with the cost of Medicare premiums, prescription drug expenses, and services not covered by Medicare – such as long-term care.
Our guide to financial assistance for Medicare enrollees in Hawaii includes overviews of these benefits, including Medicare Savings Programs, long-term care coverage, and eligibility guidelines for assistance.
Additional information and resources
Medicare in Hawaii: Resources for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers
For more information about Medicare benefits in Hawaii or for assistance applying for Medicare coverage, try one of these resources.
- Visit the Hawaii State Health Insurance Assistance Program website with questions related to Medicare in Hawaii.
- Read an overview of Medicare from Hawaii’s Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund.
- The Medicare Rights Center website is also an excellent resource for Medicare-related questions. You can also call their national helpline number: 1-800-333-4114.
Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other health insurance experts.