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Help someone save up to $3,600 on prescription drug costs

SSA Publication No. 05-10505, August 2008, [View .pdf]  Get Accessible Adobe Acrobat Reader  (En Español) (other languages)
 

Do you know someone who needs help with prescription costs?

Now, you can help someone you care about apply for extra help with their Medicare prescription drug costs. 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.
  
 

Contents
Getting started
Documents that will help your loved ones prepare in advance
State agencies may be able to help with Medicare costs
How you can get more information
Worksheet

 

 

Getting started

Social Security developed an online application you can complete to help Medicare beneficiaries apply for extra help. The worksheet below can assist you in helping them complete the application for extra help. The worksheet is not an application.

Ask whoever you are helping to:

  • Identify the things they own alone, with their spouse or with someone else. They should not include their home, vehicles, burial plots or personal possessions.
  • Review all their income.
  • Gather their records in advance to save time.

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Documents that will help your loved ones prepare in advance

  • 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.

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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 www.socialsecurity.gov 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 1-800-325-0778) 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 www.medicare.gov 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.

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Please complete the worksheet below.

We need to know information about their (and their spouse’s, if they are married and living together) income and resources:

 
 
Resources Value
Bank accounts, including checking, savings and certificates of deposit $ 
Stocks, bonds, savings bonds, mutual funds, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or other investments $ 
Cash at home or anywhere else $ 
Life insurance policies for applicant (and spouse, if married and living together) $ 
NOTE: Social Security needs to know how much money the applicant or spouse would get if they cashed in their life insurance policies today . Ask them to check with their insurance company or agent to get the exact cash value. This probably will be less than the amount they are insured for.
Any real estate other than your home $ 
Income Monthly Amount
Social Security benefits $ 
Railroad Retirement benefits $ 
Veterans benefits $ 
Other pensions or annuities $ 
Alimony $ 
Net rental income $ 
Workers' compensation $ 
Other income $ 
Help from other people to pay for household expenses, such as food, mortgage or rent, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water and property taxes $ 
  Annual Amount
Wages $
Net earnings from self-employment $ 

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