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Every year more people become eligible for Medicare. According to the latest Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) report, nearly 64 million Americans have Medicare. The majority of those people are seniors over the age of 65.
Similarly to gas prices and rent, healthcare costs are rising. In 2022, CMS announced the largest Part B premium increase in the program’s history. Seniors are feeling the pinch as prices sharply increase.
Fortunately, there are programs designed to assist with the rising cost of healthcare.
Extra Help
Extra Help is a program designed to assist people on Medicare with the costs of their prescription drugs. People who qualify for Extra Help can get assistance paying for their drug plan premium, copays for medications, and drug plan deductibles. In addition, if you are in the Extra Help program, you won’t have to pay the Part D late enrollment penalty.
For those whose income was too high to qualify for Medicaid, we recommend calling to find out if you are eligible for Extra Help. You can see if you qualify by calling Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).
To read about other ways to save money on your prescriptions, check out our article, Ways to Save on Your Part D Plan.
Medicare Savings Programs
Your state offers Medicare Savings Programs that can help pay for your Medicare premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. Medicare Savings Programs have four levels. Each level has different income criteria.
The four levels are:
Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB)- At this level, the member gets help paying for their Part A premium (if they have one), Part B premium, deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments for Medicare-covered services.
Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB)- This level pays for the Part B premium for those who qualify.
Qualifying Individual Program (QI)- Those at this level get help paying for Part B premiums.
Qualified Disabled and Working Individuals (QDWI)- The member gets help paying for their Part A premium at this level.
To learn more and to see if you qualify, click here.
If you are struggling with rising healthcare costs, we strongly recommend you contact Medicare to see if you qualify for one of their many programs to help lower insurance costs.
If you don’t know where to start, we suggest calling Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Tell them that you are interested in lowering your costs, and they can assess you to determine if they have a program for you.
Christina Valenzuela
Christina is the co-owner of Vista Mutual Insurance Services, an insurance agency that focuses exclusively on the needs of Medicare beneficiaries. She has worked in the Medicare insurance industry since 2006 and is a licensed insurance producer in multiple states.
Although we strive to be as accurate as possible, any differences between this document and the information on Medicare.gov will be governed by the information on Medicare.gov.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
