Medicare Prescription Drug coverage

[Franky]

From www.socialsecurity.gov Some people on Medicare, may not know this is available.

Anyone who has Medicare can get Medicare Prescription Drug coverage. Extra help is available for some people with limited income and resources. It will pay for all or most of the monthly premiums and annual deductibles and lower the prescription co-payments related to their plan.

The extra help could be worth up to $3,600 per year. Many people with limited income and resources qualify for these big savings and don’t even know it. To find out if someone is eligible, Social Security will need to know their income and the value of their savings, investments and real estate (other than their home). If they are married and living with their spouse, we will need this information for both of them. To qualify for extra help they must have:

• Income limited to $15,600 for an individual or $21,000 for a married couple living together. Even if their annual income is higher, the ones you care about still may be able to get some help with monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. Some examples where income may be higher include if they or their spouse:
  
  • Support other family members who live with them;
  • Have earnings from work; or
  • Live in Alaska or Hawaii; and
• Resources limited to $11,990 for an individual or $23,970 for a married couple living together. Resources include such things as bank accounts, stocks and bonds. We do not count their house and car as resources.

[Franky]

Documents that will help you prepare.

• Statements that show their account balances at banks, credit unions or other financial institutions;
• Investment statements;
• Life insurance policy statements;
• Stock certificates;
• Tax returns;
• Pension award letters; and
• Payroll slips.

[Franky]

State agencies may be able to help with Medicare costs

Medicare Savings Programs help people with limited income and resources pay for their Medicare expenses. If whoever you are helping pays a premium for Medicare Part A, the Medicare Savings Programs may pay it for them. The help they get from the Medicare Savings Programs can save them more than $1,100 a year.
If you think they might be able to get help from their State with Medicare costs, or if you are not sure, call their State medical assistance (Medicaid) office or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227); TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.




How you can get more information

For more information about getting extra help with your Medicare prescription drug costs visit Social Security Online - The Official Website of the U.S. Social Security Administration or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
You can help someone apply online for extra help. To help them apply by phone or get an application, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-077 and ask for the Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020). Social Security representatives are available to help you complete the application.
To learn more about the Medicare prescription drug plans and special enrollment periods, visit Medicare.gov - The Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare or call 1-800-MEDICARE ( 1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048). Medicare also can tell you about agencies in your area that can help you with Medicare prescription drug plans.

[silverlark]

Called this a very long time ago, and i think they said that i didnt qualify for any support...

wondering if i should call again?

[Franky]

Well it wont cost you anything to try again. If you need the help, its worth the try. I will be trying to post here in this section more programs out there to help people, who might not even know its available to them to use.

[tcmgpt13]

There is a lot of useful information on this page. This is just one section from it discussing how much a person may have in savings/stocks/etc which seems to differ from those listed on another government site which Franky posted above. I think this shows why it is important to check locally with the state and even the local social security office as information sometimes can differ, depending on which government agency is providing it. Hopefully at some point the right hand will know what the left hand is doing?

Medicare

"f you cannot afford to pay your Medicare premiums and other medical costs, you may be able to get help from your state. States offer programs for people who are entitled to Medicare and have low income. The programs may pay some or all of Medicare’s premiums and also may pay Medicare deductibles and coinsurance. To qualify, you must have Part A (hospital insurance), a limited income, and, in most states, your resources, such as bank accounts, stocks and bonds, must not be more than $4,000 for a single person or $6,000 for a couple.

If you are not sure if you have Part A, look on your red, white and blue Medicare card. It will show “Hospital (Part A)” on the lower left corner of the card. If you are still not sure, you can call Social Security toll-free.

You can go online to get more information about these programs from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website. Visit Medicare.gov - The Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare and request If you need help paying Medicare costs, there are programs that can help you save money (Publication No. CMS-10126).

Only your state can decide if you qualify for help under these programs. To find out, contact your state or local medical assistance (Medicaid) agency, social services or welfare office.
Medicare

You also may be able to get extra help paying for the annual deductibles, monthly premiums and prescription co-payments related to the Medicare prescription drug program (Part D). You may qualify for extra help if you have limited income (tied to the federal poverty level) and limited resources. These income and resource limits change each year, and you can contact us for the current numbers.

If you have both Medicaid with prescription drug coverage and Medicare, Medicare and Supplemental Security Income, or if your state pays for your Medicare premiums, you automatically will get this extra help and you don’t need to apply.

For more information about getting help with your prescription drug costs, call Social Security’s toll-free number or visit our website. You also can apply online at Social Security’s website."

Here is the health and human services website page which discusses poverty guidelines for 2009 along with charts showing maximum income to still qualify for help:

http://aspe.hhs.gov/POVERTY/09poverty.shtml