Yes. Depending on your income, resources, and state rules, Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help, Medicaid, and other assistance may help with premiums, cost sharing, and prescriptions.
Yes. Depending on your income, savings, and state rules, you may get help paying Medicare premiums, medical bills, or prescription costs.
The limits for income and resources, such as savings and investments, can change each year. Some states allow higher limits. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can help you check whether you may qualify and find the right application. The agency running the program decides whether you qualify.
Medicare Savings Programs
State Medicaid agencies run four Medicare Savings Programs:
- Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB): May pay Part A and Part B premiums and Medicare deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.
- Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB): Helps pay the Part B premium.
- Qualifying Individual (QI): Helps pay the Part B premium but has limited funding and generally requires yearly application.
- Qualified Disabled and Working Individual (QDWI): Helps certain working people with disabilities pay the Part A premium.
If you qualify for the QMB program, Medicare providers generally cannot bill you for Medicare-covered deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments.
Apply through your state Medicaid office even if your income appears slightly above a published federal amount, because states may use different rules.
Extra Help for Part D
Extra Help is a Medicare program that reduces Part D premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and other prescription costs for people with limited income and resources.
People with full Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, or QMB, SLMB, or QI assistance generally receive Extra Help automatically. Help with Part A through QDWI does not automatically qualify you for Extra Help. You can apply for Extra Help separately. Social Security explains this distinction.
People receiving Extra Help do not pay a Part D late-enrollment penalty.
Medicaid
People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid are often called dual eligible. Medicare generally pays first for Medicare-covered services, and Medicaid may help with Medicare costs and services Medicare does not fully cover.
Eligibility and benefits vary by state.
Other Sources of Help
You may also qualify for:
- Pharmaceutical assistance programs
- State drug-assistance programs
- Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE
- Supplemental Security Income
- Veterans or retiree benefits
- Hospital financial assistance
SHIP offers free, unbiased counseling about these options.
What to Gather Before Applying
Prepare information about:
- Social Security and pension income
- Bank and investment balances
- Current Medicare and Medicaid cards
- Prescription drugs
- Employer, retiree, or veterans coverage
- Recent notices from Medicare, Social Security, or your state
Use Medicare's cost-assistance overview to identify programs.
For premium and medical-cost assistance, use Medicare’s state-program application guidance. For Part D assistance, apply for Extra Help through Social Security. SHIP can help you work out which application you need.
Medicare policy sources last checked: October 8, 2026.