Contacting Social Security

Visit our website
Our website, www.socialsecurity.gov, is a valuable resource for information about all of Social Security’s programs. At our website, you can:

• Apply online for Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs;
  
  
• Apply for other Social Security benefits;
  
  
• Find the address of your local Social Security office;
  
  
• Request a Social Security Statement or a replacement Medicare card; and
  
  
• Find copies of our publications.

Call our toll-free number

If you need an application, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, and ask for the Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020). We treat all calls confidentially. Social Security representatives are available to help you complete your application or answer specific questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. We provide information by automated phone service 24 hours a day. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

We also want to make sure you receive accurate and courteous service. That is why we have a second Social Security representative monitor some telephone calls.

What is Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs?

Anyone who has Medicare and lives in the 50 states or the District of Columbia can get Medicare prescription drug coverage. Some people with limited income and resources also are eligible for Extra Help to pay for the costs—monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription co-payments—related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. The Extra Help is estimated to be worth an average of $3,900 per year. Many people qualify for these big savings and don’t even know it. To find out if you qualify, Social Security will need to know your income and the value of your savings, investments, and real estate (other than your home). If you are married and living with your spouse, we will need information about both of you.

To help Social Security determine if you are eligible for the Extra Help, you will need to file an Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020).

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What is the income limit?

To qualify for Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs, your annual income for 2009 must be limited to $16,245 for an individual or $21,855 for a married couple living together.

Even if your annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some help. Some examples where your income may be higher are if you or your spouse:

• Support other family members who live with you;
  
  
• Have earnings from work; or
  
  
• Live in Alaska or Hawaii. The income limit for Alaska is $20,295 for an individual or $27,315 for a married couple living together. The income limit for Hawaii is $18,690 for an individual or $25,140 for a married couple living together.

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What does not count as income?

Not all cash payments count as income. For example, we do not count :

• Food stamp assistance;
  
  
• Housing assistance;
  
  
• Home energy assistance;
  
  
• Medical treatment and drugs;
  
  
• Disaster assistance;
  
  
• Earned income tax credit payments;
  
  
• Economic recovery payments;
  
  
• Victim’s compensation payments; and
  
  
• Scholarships and education grants.

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What is the resource limit?

To get the Extra Help, your total resources for 2009 must be limited to $12,510 for an individual or $25,010 for a married couple living together.

Resources include the value of the things you own. Some examples are:

• Real estate (other than your primary residence);
  
  
• Bank accounts, including checking, savings and certificates of deposit;
  
  
• Stocks;
  
  
• Bonds, including U.S. Savings Bonds;
  
  
• Mutual funds;
  
  
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs); or
  
  
• Cash at home or anywhere else.

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What does not count as a resource?

We do not count:

• Your primary residence;
  
  
• Your personal possessions;
  
  
• Your vehicle(s);
  
  
• Resources you could not easily convert to cash, such as jewelry or home furnishings;
  
  
• Property you need for self-support, such as rental property or land you use to grow produce for home consumption;
  
  
• Non-business property essential to your self-support;
  
  
• Up to $1,500 (or $3,000 if you are married and living with your spouse) of the cash value of life insurance policies you hold;
  
  
• Burial spaces;
  
  
• Interest earned on money you plan to use for burial expenses; and
  
  
• Certain other money you are holding is not counted for nine months, such as:
  • Retroactive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments;
  • Housing assistance;
  • Federal income tax refunds and earned income tax credit advances;
  • Economic recovery payments
  • Compensation you receive as a crime victim; and
  • Relocation assistance from a state or local government.

You should contact Social Security for information about other exclusions.

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How do you apply?

If you are not getting the Extra Help automatically, it is easy to apply. Just complete Social Security’s Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020). Here’s how:

• Apply online;
  
  
• Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to apply over the phone or to request that an application be mailed to you; or
  
  
• Apply at your local Social Security office.

After you apply, Social Security will review your application and send you a letter to let you know if you qualify for the Extra Help. Once you qualify, you can select the Medicare prescription drug plan of your choice. If you do not select a plan, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will do it for you. The sooner you join a plan the sooner you begin receiving benefits.

If you are not eligible for the Extra Help, you still may be able to enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan. For information about enrollment periods visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).

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For example, Social Security will not count the following income and resources:

• Funds held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for an Indian Tribe and distributed per capita to members of the Tribe;
  
  
• Certain distributions received by an Alaska Native from an Alaska Native Regional and Village Corporation;
  
  
• Up to $2,000 per year received by an Indian that is derived from individual interests in trusts or restricted lands;
  
  
• Payments to members of specific Indian Tribes as provided by federal legislation; and
  
  
• Land held in trust by the United States for an individual Indian or Tribe.
  

You should contact Social Security for other income and resource exclusions.

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How can Social Security help you with the Medicare prescription drug plans?

Social Security can help you apply for Extra Help paying for your Medicare prescription drug plan costs if you have limited income and resources. Just call our toll-free number or apply at your local Social Security office.

Social Security can provide information about the organizations that are available in your community to help you make choices when enrolling in a plan.

How can state agencies help you with Medicare costs?

State agencies also can help with Medicare costs. State medical assistance (Medicaid) offices offer a Medicare Savings Program. Medicare Savings Programs also help people with limited income and resources pay for their Medicare expenses. If you are paying a premium for Medicare Part A, the Medicare Savings Program may pay it for you. The Medicare Savings Program can help you save more than $1,100 a year. This assistance is in addition to the Extra Help.

If you think you might be able to get help with Medicare costs from your state, or if you are not sure, call your state medical assistance (Medicaid) office or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).

How do you join a Medicare prescription drug plan?

By paper application—Contact the company offering the drug plan you choose and ask for an application. Once you fill out the form, mail or fax it back to the company.

On the plan’s website—Visit the drug plan company’s website. You may be able to join online.

On Medicare’s website—Join a drug plan at www.medicare.gov on the web using Medicare’s online enrollment center.

By calling 1-800-MEDICARE—Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048) and talk to a Medicare customer service representative.

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What factors should you consider when comparing your Medicare drug plan choices?

Visit www.medicare.gov on the Internet and use the following tools:

Compare Medicare prescription drug plans—By entering personalized information, you can find and compare the prescription drug plans in your state that meet your personal needs and enroll in the prescription drug plan you select.

Formulary Finder—By entering personalized information about the specific medications you take, you can get information to help you find the plans in your state that match your prescription drug needs.

Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048) to learn more about the Medicare prescription drug plans and special enrollment periods. Medicare can tell you about agencies in your area that can help you with Medicare prescription drug plans.

How can you get help to make a decision about enrolling in a specific prescription drug plan?

Coverage—Medicare drug plans will cover generic and brand-name drugs. Most plans will have a formulary, which is a list of drugs covered by the plan. The drugs covered by the plans can change, but the list must always meet Medicare’s requirements.

Cost—Monthly premiums and your share of prescription costs will vary depending on which plan you choose. If you qualify for Extra Help because you have limited income and resources, you will get help with some or all of these costs.

Convenience—Drug plans must contract with pharmacies in your area. Check with the plan to make sure the pharmacies in the plan are convenient to you.

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Legislative changes

In July 2008, Congress passed the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act. This legislation made three key changes to the Extra Help benefit with Medicare prescription drug plan costs, effective January 1, 2010:

1. We will no longer count as income the help you receive regularly from someone else to pay your household expenses—food, mortgage, rent, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water, and property taxes.
   
   
2. We will no longer count as a resource the cash value of your life insurance policies. This is the amount of money you would receive if you turned in your policies for cash right now.
   
   
3. You can initiate an application for help from your state under the Medicare Savings Programs when you file your application for Extra Help.

Also, if you are receiving Extra Help you are not subject to a penalty for late enrollment into the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. This provision is effective January 1, 2009. So, the sooner you apply the sooner you begin receiving benefits.