At 71, She Chose Humana for the Part B Giveback in Her Social Security Check. For 2027, Humana Will Cut or Eliminate It for 62% of Those Members

Imagine a 71-year-old retired person chose a Humana (NYSE:HUM | HUM Price Prediction) Medicare Advantage plan for its Part B giveback. The giveback is simple: the plan pays part of her Medicare Part B premium for her. If that premium normally comes out of her Social Security check, less gets withheld and more money lands in her account each month.

For 2027, Humana is shrinking or eliminating the giveback for 62% of affected members. Her plan premium may still show $0 on the Annual Notice of Change while the boost to her Social Security deposit gets smaller. So a plan that still carries a $0 monthly premium can silently leave her with less money each month.

How the Giveback Reaches Your Bank Account

Some Medicare Advantage plans use part of their federal rebate to pay a share of the member’s Part B premium. Social Security then withholds less, so the net deposit rises. The 2026 standard Part B premium is $202.90, up from $185.00 in 2025. If Part B comes out of her Social Security check, the giveback reduces that deduction and leaves her with a larger deposit. If she pays Medicare directly, the reduction shows up on her Medicare bill instead.

Plans spend only part of their rebate money this way. A MedPAC analysis estimates conventional Medicare Advantage plans put about 9% of those dollars toward Part B reductions in 2026, compared with 40% toward lower Part A and Part B cost sharing and 25% toward extras such as dental, vision and hearing. For 2027, Humana chose to trim or eliminate the giveback for many members. The hit lands on people who chose a plan partly because of the larger deposit.

Why Humana Is Pulling Back for 2027

Humana designed its 2027 plans with wider margins in mind. On its July earnings call, CFO Celeste Mellet cited ‘benefit adjustments and targeted plan exits,’ with the exits alone expected to affect about 600,000 members. Humana had already said Medicare’s 2.48% net payment increase for 2027 still fell short of its medical-cost pressures, making benefit changes part of the response.

What a $50 Giveback Loss Does to a $2,000 Check

Let’s take an example: a $50 monthly giveback on a $2,000 gross benefit. The 2027 COLA is tracking toward 3.5%, with one more data point to be collected. The 2027 row uses the 2026 Part B premium because CMS has not yet set the new one.

Her projected $70 cost-of-living raise shrinks to $20 in this simplified example once the $50 giveback disappears. Over a year, that’s $600 of lost giveback.

Traps Hiding Behind the Renewal Button

• Auto-renewal locks in the new version. If she does nothing, she stays in the 2027 plan with whatever giveback and formulary changes come with it. Open enrollment runs October 15, 2026 to December 7, 2026.
• Going back to Original Medicare can make the Medigap side harder at 71. Her one-time Medigap open enrollment window closed years ago. In most states, insurers can now review her health history and charge more or deny coverage. New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine have broader rules.
• The out-of-pocket maximum leaves out drugs. Part D spending sits outside the Advantage cap. The Part D cap goes to $2,400 in 2027, from $2,100.
• Networks are shrinking across the industry. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) unit UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) unit Aetna say their 2027 Medicare Advantage plans will offer more limited provider networks.

If she is healthy and the giveback was her main reason for choosing the plan, she should look for another Advantage plan in her county that still pays a giveback and keeps her doctors in network. (The giveback is only one of several Medicare line items that can subtly shift against a retired person. We mapped out the rest, from IRMAA surcharges to coverage gaps, in a free guide: Medicare’s Hidden Bills.)

Three Moves to Make Before December 7

1. Find the giveback line on your Annual Notice of Change. It usually appears as a “Part B premium reduction.” Compare the 2027 amount with what you get now, then multiply the monthly difference by 12.
2. Use Medicare Plan Finder to compare plans in your ZIP code, then open the plan details and look for the ‘Part B premium reduction’ line. Compare the giveback, dental coverage, full-year drug costs and whether your doctors are in network.
3. Confirm whether Humana is renewing your plan or dropping it. If your plan is among the exits, you get a federal guaranteed-issue right to buy certain Medigap plans without medical underwriting for a limited time.

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