Best Medicare Advantage plan for seeing doctors outside a network in Sacramento County, California

No PPO open to everyone is sold in Sacramento County this year. An HMO with a point-of-service option (HMO-POS) may pay for some care outside its network; check each plan's page.

Every Medicare plan sold in Sacramento County

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

Among PPO plans, which pay for covered care from doctors outside their network, the one whose worst year costs least: twelve months of premiums plus its yearly limit on what you pay for in- and out-of-network care together. Where several tie, we look next at the highest star rating, then the largest Part B giveback, then the lowest premium, then the lowest out-of-pocket limit for in-network care, then the lowest copay to see a primary care doctor. Plans that still tie are listed by name.

We compare the 14 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.