Best Medicare Advantage plan for a Part B premium giveback in Lea County, New Mexico

Why this plan

Only one of the 6 plans we compare here gives back part of your Part B premium: HumanaChoice H5216-196 (PPO), $2 a month, $24 over a year.

What it gives up

• Its premium, $19 a month, is higher than most plans here; the middle plan charges $4.50 a month.
• Its out-of-pocket limit, $7,200, is higher than most here (the middle plan's is $5,925): in a year with a lot of care, it could cost you more than other plans.

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.

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

We don't pick plans Medicare rates below 3 stars, and leave 1 out here: Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Select (HMO) (2.5 stars). Plans too new to have a rating are included, and say so.