{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-17/hmsa-disenrolls-medicare-advantage-members","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-17/hmsa-disenrolls-medicare-advantage-members.md","title":"HMSA Disenrolls 16,000 From Medicare Advantage Plan","headline":"HMSA Disenrolls 16,000 Akamai Advantage Complete Plus Members in Hawaii","description":"HMSA is disenrolling 16,000 Akamai Advantage Complete Plus members, citing funding pressure, and offering a new HMO with a $45 monthly premium.","section":"Regulation & Approvals","published_at":"2026-10-17T04:00:33+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-17T04:00:33+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["HMSA is disenrolling 16,000 Akamai Advantage Complete Plus customers from its Medicare Advantage plan.","HMSA's new Akamai Advantage Select Plus HMO carries a $45 monthly premium and a smaller network.","The Queen's Health System declined to join the new plan's network, saying it lacked enough information to participate.","Disenrolled members have until February to choose a new plan, while most Medicare recipients face a December 7 deadline."],"companies":[{"name":"HMSA","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000aj6g/hmsa","website":"https://www.hmsa.com"},{"name":"The Queen’s Health System","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0006sd2/the-queen-s-health-system","website":"https://www.queens.org"}],"source":{"publisher":"EIN Presswire","title":"Hawaii kupuna face tough Medicare choices after losing HMSA plan","url":"https://www.einnews.com/article/950307520/live"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Regulation & Approvals","HMSA","The Queen’s Health System"],"body_markdown":"[HMSA](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000aj6g/hmsa) is disenrolling 16,000 Akamai Advantage Complete Plus customers from its Medicare Advantage plan, citing restricted federal funding and rising medical costs. The Hawaii News Now report, published by [EIN Presswire](https://www.einnews.com/article/950307520/live), said the company is offering a new Akamai Advantage Select Plus HMO with a $45 monthly premium and a smaller network. Affected members have until February to choose a new plan.\n\n## HMSA's Disenrollment and the New Select Plus HMO\n\nHMSA has about 30,000 Medicare clients in two individual plans. Members of the other plan, Akamai Advantage Complete, received a notice of plan changes informing them of a higher premium, but they will be renewed if they do not leave the plan.\n\nMartha Khlopin, a Medicare insurance agent, said her office has been fielding a high volume of calls from affected customers. \"We got 45 calls in one day. And people were shocked to get a letter, letting them know that the plan was terminating,\" Khlopin said.\n\nKimberly Takata Endo, HMSA vice president of Medicare, said the changes stem from funding pressures across the industry. \"I would say generally, plans have been under a lot of pressure where the funding is not enough to offset the rising cost of care,\" Takata Endo said.\n\nThe Queen's Health System and its doctors declined to be included in the new plan's network, Queen's said, because it did not have enough information to participate. Khlopin said people who select the HMO may need to look for a new primary care provider.\n\nMarvin Mau, whose mother Leilani, 95, is among the 16,000 customers being disenrolled, said he picked up the certified letter notifying the family of the change. \"This is just the beginning or the tip of the iceberg. But this was a big one. I was shocked when I saw this,\" Mau said.\n\nHMSA said it is expanding its outreach staff and agent network to assist displaced members. \"Yesterday was the first day that members could start to enroll and we're continuing to support them. So, we're continuing to call each of them until we see that they've made a choice,\" Takata Endo said.\n\n## HMSA's One Health Review and Hawaii Scale\n\nHMSA is a Honolulu-based, non-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee founded in 1938 that provides commercial, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid (QUEST), and dental health plans to approximately half of Hawaii's population, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records show a proposed One Health affiliation with Hawaii Pacific Health to create an integrated payer-provider system built on risk-sharing and value-based care, affecting roughly half of Hawaii's residents and subject to 6 to 18 months of state and federal regulatory review. Formal state and federal review of the partnership commenced in January 2026, with regulators scrutinizing potential anti-competitive conditions from a preferred network.\n\n## Earlier HMSA Medicare and Payment Changes\n\nIn October 2026, HMSA said it was closing two higher-option Medicare Advantage plans by December 31, affecting about 16,000 members unless they switch to new plans with higher premiums, Yahoo reported. The two-year plans will be re-launched in 2027 with monthly premiums rising to $240 from roughly $150 to $160.\n\nIn July 2026, Hawaii chiropractors protested new treatment review policies implemented by HMSA, the state's largest health insurer, which resulted in significant claim denials and financial losses for practices, Hawaii News Now reported. In May 2026, HMSA implemented a significant change to its payment model, a decision that left the local medical community feeling blindsided, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.\n\n## HMSA's Enrollment Deadlines\n\nMost Medicare recipients have until December 7 to make a decision. Those who were disenrolled from their plans have until February.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}