To keep your Extra Help benefits from year to year, you must continue to meet the eligibility requirements. Depending on your state and how you initially qualified for Extra Help, this process may be automatic or require that you submit information to confirm your continued eligibility.
If you qualified for Extra Help automatically because you had Medicaid Medicaid is a federal and state program that provides health coverage for certain people with limited income and assets. , Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Supplemental Security Income is a monthly benefit for people with limited incomes and assets who are 65 or older, blind, or have a disability. , or a Medicare Savings Program (MSP) Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), also known as Medicare Buy-In programs, help pay your Medicare costs if you have limited income and savings. There are three main MSPs, each with different benefits and eligibility limits: Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), and Qualifying Individual (QI) program. The Qualified Disabled Working Individual (QDWI) program is a less common MSP for people who are under 65, have a disabling impairment, and continue to work. , and:
- You still have Medicaid, SSI, or an MSP in the fall, you do not have to do anything. Your state should inform Medicare that you are still enrolled in one of these programs, and you will continue receiving Extra Help. You should not receive any notice unless your copayments are changing for the next year. If your income changed enough to affect your copayments, you should receive a notice telling you this in early October.
- You no longer have Medicaid, SSI, or an MSP in the fall, you should apply for Extra Help. If you do not apply, your Extra Help ends December 31. You should receive a letter in the fall explaining that you will lose Extra Help, along with an application and postage-paid envelope. You may also choose to apply for Extra Help online.
If you applied for Extra Help:
The may send you a letter in August or September titled Social Security Administration Review of Your Eligibility for Extra Help. The letter outlines the financial and personal information you provided when you applied and asks if any of it has changed. Note that if you and your spouse applied for Extra Help together, you will receive only one letter. If you receive the letter, you must complete the enclosed Review of Your Eligibility form and send it back to SSA within 30 days. SSA will use your answers to decide if you still qualify for Extra Help, depending on how your income and assets Assets are resources such as savings and checking accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts, and real estate. changed. If you do not fill out and return the Review of Your Eligibility form, your Extra Help assistance will end December 31. If you need more time to fill out the form, call your local Social Security office and ask for a 30-day extension. Any changes to your Extra Help assistance will take effect January 1.
Once SSA has reviewed any forms you have submitted, you will receive a notice explaining whether your Extra Help benefit has stayed the same, increased, decreased, or ended. Remember, you can appeal or reapply if you lose Extra Help.