Best Medicare Advantage plan for a Part B premium giveback in Bristol County, Massachusetts

Why this plan

3 of the 30 plans we compare here give back part of your Part B premium. HumanaChoice Giveback H5216-477 (PPO) gives back the most: $48 a month, $576 over a year. The next is HumanaChoice Giveback H5216-138 (PPO), at $40 a month back.

eternalHealth Give Back (PPO) would come first on this alone, but Medicare rates it 2.5 stars, below the 3 stars we require for a pick.

What it gives up

• Its out-of-pocket limit, $7,150, is higher than most here (the middle plan's is $6,750): in a year with a lot of care, it could cost you more than other plans.

Where else it does well

• It charges no monthly premium, where the middle plan here charges $68.50 a month.

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

We don't pick plans Medicare rates below 3 stars, and leave 2 out here: eternalHealth Freedom (PPO) (2.5 stars), eternalHealth Give Back (PPO) (2.5 stars). Plans too new to have a rating are included, and say so.