If you qualify for one of the three main Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), your Medicare Part B monthly premium will no longer be deducted from your Social Security check. Additionally, you will automatically get Extra Help, the federal program that helps with Part D prescription A prescription is an order for a health care service or drug written by a qualified health care professional. drugs costs. Each MSP program also offers separate benefits. Remember, you cannot choose to apply for a certain MSP: you will be enrolled in the MSP that corresponds to your income, assets Assets are resources such as savings and checking accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts, and real estate. , and other application details.
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Get Help Applying for Medicare Cost-Savings Programs
If you live in New York, the Medicare Rights Center can help you enroll in various Medicare cost-savings programs. Please answer a few questions to see if we can connect you with a trained benefits enrollment counselor.
Contact your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program
Each state offers a SHIP, partly funded by the federal government, to give you free counseling and assistance. A SHIP counselor may be available by phone or in person.
Visit www.shiptacenter.org to find your local SHIP office.
Contact your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program
Based on the information you provided, you do not appear to be eligible for Medicare cost-saving programs.
[glossary_exclude]Each state offers a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), partly funded by the federal government, to give you free counseling and assistance. A SHIP counselor may be available by phone or in person.[/glossary_exclude]
Visit www.shiptacenter.org to find your local SHIP office.
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Qualifying Individual (QI) Qualifying Individual (QI) is a Medicare Savings Program (MSP) administered by each state’s Medicaid program. It pays the Medicare Part B premium for people with Medicare who have limited income and assets.
If you are enrolled in the QI program, you may receive up to three months of retroactive reimbursement for Part B premiums deducted from your Social Security check. Note that you can only be reimbursed for premiums paid up to three months before your MSP effective date, and within the same year of that effective date. For example, if you submitted an MSP application at the end of 2024 and are approved for February 2025, you can only receive premium reimbursement for January 2025 because you cannot be reimbursed for premiums paid in the previous year. If your QI effective date is April 2025, you would receive premium reimbursements for January, February, and March.
Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) is a Medicare Savings Program (MSP) administered by each state’s Medicaid program. It pays the Medicare Part B premium for people with Medicare who have limited income and assets.
If you are enrolled in the SLMB program, you may receive up to three months of retroactive reimbursement for Part B premiums. Unlike QI, you may be reimbursed for premiums from the previous calendar year. For example, if you submitted an MSP application at the end of 2024 and are approved for February 2025, you may be reimbursed for premiums paid in November and December of 2024 as well as January 2025.
Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) is a Medicare Savings Program (MSP) administered by each state’s Medicaid program. It helps people with Medicare who have limited income and assets pay their premiums, deductibles, and coinsurances. If you have QMB, you should not be billed for any Medicare-covered services you receive from Original Medicare providers or providers in your Medicare Advantage Plan’s network.
Unlike QI and SLMB, QMB does not offer retroactive premium reimbursement. Instead, federal law prohibits Medicare providers from billing you if you are enrolled in QMB. This means Medicare providers should not bill you for any Medicare-covered services you receive. Additionally, if you have to pay Part A premiums because you do not have 10 years of documented work history in the United States, QMB will pay the Part A premium for you.