Healthier Hawaiʻi Together
HMSA and Hawaiʻi Pacific Health are joining together for better, more affordable care.
A PARTNERSHIP BUILT AROUND YOU - ONE HEALTH HAWAIʻI
An open system that protects choice
This partnership is built on a simple promise: Your care remains your choice.
If you’re an HMSA member, you keep your doctor, your care team, and the freedom to choose the hospital that’s right for you.
If you’re a Hawaiʻi Pacific Health (HPH) patient, you keep your insurance — whether it’s HMSA or another health plan — and continue receiving care from the providers you trust.
Nothing about this partnership locks you into a single doctor, hospital, or insurance plan. You control your health care journey. Your options remain open.
A PARTNERSHIP BUILT AROUND YOU - ONE HEALTH HAWAIʻI
Two trusted Hawaiʻi health care leaders
HMSA and HPH have served Hawaiʻi's communities for generations. Both organizations were built here, care deeply about local families, and understand the unique needs of our islands.
This partnership brings together two organizations that already play key roles in Hawaiʻi's health care system — not to change who they are, but to work more closely in service of the people they care for, as One Health Hawaiʻi.
A PARTNERSHIP BUILT AROUND YOU - ONE HEALTH HAWAIʻI
Care collaboration that is stronger together
When health care is easier to navigate, there’s comfort and confidence — especially during stressful or uncertain moments.
By coordinating more closely, this partnership is designed to make care simpler and more connected. That means smoother processes between providers, clearer communication, less duplication, and fewer obstacles for patients trying to get the care they need.
The goal is straightforward: Make care easier, faster, and more seamless — without changing the doctors, hospitals, or insurance you rely on today.
WHAT ONE HEALTH HAWAIʻI MEANS FOR YOU
Better, More Affordable Care for All of Hawaiʻi
If you’re an HMSA member
You keep your doctor, care team, and hospital of choice. Coverage and options stay the same, with better coordination designed to make care easier to navigate over time — without changing what works for you today.
Learn More
If you’re an HPH patient
You keep your doctors, care teams, and insurance. No switching is required, as improved behind-the-scenes coordination supports a more connected, less complicated care experience.
If you’re not an HMSA member
You do not need to switch insurance. Access to HPH facilities and providers remains open, allowing you to keep your current plan and control your care.
If you’re not an HPH patient
Your providers, hospitals, and care teams remain your choice. This partnership strengthens coordination where appropriate while preserving independence across Hawaiʻi’s broader health care landscape.
If you’re a provider
Your clinical practice and judgment remain independent. This partnership supports behind-the-scenes coordination without creating closed networks or limiting professional autonomy across Hawaiʻi’s health care system
If you’re an employer
Your benefit offerings and employee choice remain unchanged. This partnership supports behind-the-scenes coordination to promote affordability, access, and long-term stability across Hawaiʻi’s health care landscape.
Making Care
More Affordable
Health care costs don’t rise because people want more care — they rise when the system is fragmented, inefficient, and reactive. By working more closely, HMSA and HPH can better align incentives around prevention, coordination, and delivering care. The goal is not to shift costs to patients, but to reduce waste, avoid unnecessary care, and help keep coverage affordable over time.
This partnership will help control costs by:
- Reducing avoidable emergency room visits and hospital stays through stronger preventive and chronic care.
- Delivering more care in lower-cost settings, like ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, home, and virtual care.
- Cutting down on duplicate tests, imaging, and procedures through shared clinical information.
- Improving care management so people get the right care earlier, before conditions become more complex and costly.
- Aligning medical policies and processes to reduce excessive administrative work and unnecessary delays.
- Supporting care models that reward quality and outcomes, not volume.
Expanding Access
Across Hawaiʻi
Access to care isn’t just about having coverage — it’s about being able to get timely care, close to home, without unnecessary barriers. Hawaiʻi’s geography, aging population, and workforce shortages make this especially challenging. This partnership is designed to strengthen access across islands and communities by improving coordination, expanding care options, and supporting providers who serve local patients every day.
This partnership improves access by:
- Increasing same-day or next-day access to primary care.
- Making it easier to see specialists, with direct referrals and fewer delays.
- Expanding convenient care options, including virtual care and ambulatory services.
- Supporting population-specific care models for seniors, chronic conditions, and underserved communities.
- Improving coordination across providers so patients don’t have to navigate the system alone.
- Using shared data to close care gaps and reduce missed or delayed treatment.
- Strengthening care delivery on neighbor islands, reducing the need for travel.
- Helping providers focus more time on patients and less time on administrative hurdles.
Learn more about how this partnership improves access
FAQs For HMSA Members
Can I keep my doctor?
Yes. You can keep your doctor, your care team, and the relationships you trust today.
Can I still choose my hospital?
Yes. You can continue to choose the hospital that’s right for you, including Hawaiʻi Pacific Health medical centers, or any other hospital you prefer.
Will my insurance coverage change?
No. This partnership does not change your HMSA coverage, benefits, or plan options.
Will I be required to use HPH facilities?
No. This is an open system. Nothing requires you to use a specific hospital or provider.
Will this increase my health care costs or premiums?
The goal is the opposite. The aim of this partnership is to better manage costs by improving coordination, reducing inefficiencies, and focusing on preventive care over time.
Does this affect referrals or prior authorization?
Your experience today stays the same. Over time, better coordination may help reduce unnecessary delays and paperwork.
Why is HMSA doing this now?
Hawaiʻi’s health care needs are changing, and closer collaboration can help improve affordability, access, and coordination — while preserving choice.
Who oversees this partnership?
The partnership would be governed by a nonprofit parent organization, One Health Hawaiʻi, focused on serving Hawaiʻi’s communities, with accountability and regulatory oversight.
FAQs For HPH Patients
Can I keep seeing my doctors at HPH facilities?
Do I have to change my health insurance?
No. You can keep your current insurance, whether it’s with HMSA or another health plan.
Will this limit which patients HPH facilities or providers can see?
No. HPH facilities and providers will continue to care for patients with coverage from various health plans.
Will my care experience change?
The goal of this partnership is to create a more connected, less complicated care experience for all patients across Hawaiʻi’s health care systems. Over time, coordination behind the scenes may make care feel simpler and more connected.
Will this affect appointment availability?
The goal is to improve access — including timelier appointments and smoother referrals — not reduce it.
Is HPH being taken over by an insurer?
No. This is a partnership under a shared nonprofit parent, not an acquisition. HPH continues operating as a health system focused on patient care.
Will this impact the quality of care I receive?
The intent is to support quality by improving coordination, communication, and preventive care — without changing your doctors or care teams.
Why partner with a health plan at all?
Closer collaboration helps align incentives so care is easier to navigate, more coordinated, and more sustainable for the long term.
Why is HPH doing this now?
Hawaiʻi’s health care needs are changing, and closer collaboration can help improve affordability, access, and coordination — while preserving choice.
FAQs For Non-HMSA Members
Do I need to switch to HMSA for health insurance?
No. You are not required to switch insurance as a result of this partnership.
Can I still receive care at HPH facilities?
Yes. Providers at HPH medical centers and clinics will continue to care for patients with coverage from all health plans.
Will this affect my coverage or benefits?
No. Your insurance coverage and benefits remain determined by your current health plan.
Is this partnership designed to favor HMSA members?
No. The model is designed to preserve open access and support care for all patients, regardless of their insurer.
Will this limit my choice of providers?
No. This partnership does not restrict provider choice or access.
How does this benefit patients who aren’t HMSA members?
Better coordination, expanded access, and systemwide improvements can benefit all patients across Hawaiʻi’s health care system.
Will care become more expensive for non-HMSA patients?
The goal is to reduce inefficiencies and unnecessary costs across the system, not shift costs to patients.
Why should I care about this partnership?
Because a more coordinated health care system helps improve access, quality, and affordability for everyone — not just one group.
FAQs For Non-HPH Patients
Will I be required to use HPH facilities or providers?
No. You continue to choose where you receive care based on what’s right for you.
Does this change my current doctors or care team?
No. Nothing about this partnership affects the doctors or providers you work with today.
Will this limit my hospital choices?
No. This partnership does not lock patients into a single system or network.
How does this affect care outside of HPH?
The open model supports coordination across the broader health care ecosystem, including community providers.
Will this make care harder to access elsewhere?
Does this partnership reduce competition?
The model preserves open access and choice while enabling closer collaboration to improve care delivery.
Why integrate if patients aren’t required to use the system?
Because alignment behind the scenes can improve efficiency, coordination, and sustainability — without restricting choice.
What does this mean for the future of health care in Hawaiʻi?
It’s an effort to strengthen the entire health care system so it can better serve patients, families, and communities for generations to come.
FAQs For Providers
Does this partnership affect my clinical independence?
No. Providers retain full clinical autonomy. This partnership does not dictate clinical decisions, referral choices, or treatment plans.
Will I be required to refer patients within a specific system or network?
No. This is an open system. You may continue to refer patients as you normally would.
Does this change how I contract with health plans or health systems?
No immediate changes are required right now. Existing contracts, arrangements, and relationships remain in place.
Will this partnership favor certain providers over others?
No. The model is designed to preserve open access and support care delivery across Hawaiʻi’s broader health care ecosystem.
Is this an insurer taking control of provider decision-making?
No. This is a partnership under a shared nonprofit parent organization, not an acquisition or merger that overrides provider authority.
Will administrative processes change?
Your experience today remains the same. Over time, closer coordination may help streamline processes, reduce duplication, and improve care transitions — with the goal of lowering administrative burden, not increasing it.
How does this support care models that reward quality and outcomes?
Closer alignment allows for better coordination, shared data, and more consistent care management — all of which support value-based models focused on quality and outcomes rather than volume.
What does this mean for community and independent providers?
Community providers remain essential to Hawaiʻi’s health care system. This partnership is intended to strengthen collaboration across settings — not limit participation or care options.
Will this affect patient choice?
No. Patient choice remains central. Providers and patients continue to decide what care is right for them, without system-imposed restrictions.
Why pursue this partnership now?
Because Hawaiʻi’s health care system faces increasing pressure. Closer collaboration can help support providers, improve coordination, and build a more sustainable system — while preserving independence and choice.
FAQs For Employers
Does this change the health plans we offer employees?
No. Your current HMSA plans, benefit designs, and options remain unchanged.
Will employees be required to use HPH facilities or providers?
No. This partnership preserves open choice. Your employees will continue to choose their doctors, hospitals, and care teams.
Does this affect premiums or employer costs?
There is no immediate change. The long-term goal is to better manage costs by improving coordination and reducing inefficiencies — not to shift costs to employers or your employees.
Will this change our relationship with HMSA?
No. HMSA continues to operate as a health plan serving employers and members as it does today.
Is this a move toward a closed or narrow network?
How does this benefit our workforce?
Better coordination can support easier navigation of care, fewer delays, and a more sustainable system — which helps keep employees healthier and more productive over time.
Does this require any action from employers right now?
No. Employers do not need to make changes or take action as a result of this affiliation.
Why pursue this affiliation now?
Rising costs, workforce shortages, and system fragmentation affect employers and employees alike. Closer collaboration is intended to strengthen the system while preserving flexibility and choice.
Regulatory Review
and Transparency
This proposal will need to undergo regulatory review. Healthier Hawaiʻi Together exists to provide clear, factual information throughout this process and to help the community understand what is being proposed — and what is not.