Best Medicare Advantage plan for a Part B premium giveback in Sacramento County, California

Why this plan

2 of the 19 plans open to everyone here give back part of your Part B premium. Alignment Health smartHMO (HMO) gives back the most: $140 a month, $1,680 over a year. The next is Imperial Dynamic Plan (HMO), at $35 a month back.

It gives back $1,260 a year more than Imperial Dynamic Plan (HMO), but its out-of-pocket limit is $3,203 higher. If you're likely to need much care, the extra giveback could be outweighed in a single year.

What it gives up

Nothing we can measure: its premium and out-of-pocket limit are no higher than most plans' here, and its star rating isn't below average.

Who it suits

A giveback suits you if you pay your own Part B premium and use little care: it lowers the Part B premium taken from your Social Security payment, or billed to you, by the same amount every month. If Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program pays your Part B premium, a giveback gives you nothing. It can take a few months to start showing up after you join.

More on what a giveback is really worth, and when it isn't: Easy Point After or Hail Mary? What Medicare Advantage's Part B Giveback Really Gets You.

The next best for a Part B premium giveback

Before you choose

• Check your doctors and hospitals. Most Medicare Advantage plans pay only, or mostly, for care in their own network. Ask the plan, or your doctor's office, before you join.
• Price your prescriptions. What your drugs cost can differ by hundreds of dollars a year between plans and outweigh any premium difference. Add them in our plan list to see your own costs.
• Read the plan's own documents. We take every figure from what the plan filed with Medicare, but its Evidence of Coverage is the final word on what it pays.
• Get free advice if you want it. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free, unbiased help choosing a plan.

How we picked

The plan that gives back the most of your Part B premium each month. Where several tie, we look next at the lowest out-of-pocket limit for in-network care, then the lowest premium, then the lowest copay to see a primary care doctor. Plans that still tie are listed by name.

We compare the 19 Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage that anyone with Medicare in Sacramento County can join. Special needs plans and PACE, which are only for people who qualify, aren't included; you'll find them on the Sacramento County page. No plan pays to be picked.