Extra Help to Meet Prescription
Costs
By Jim Czechowicz
There is still time to apply for extra financial help through the
new Medicare prescription drug program that goes into effect on January
1, 2006.
These days, many Medicare
beneficiaries may be trying to decide which of the Medicare plans
to sign up for, since enrollment begins on November 15. But if
you have limited income and resources, don’t
forget to see if you can qualify for extra help to pay for part of
the monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments
under the new prescription drug program.
That extra help could be worth an average of $2,100 per year for
those who qualify.
Social Security is taking
applications now from Medicare beneficiaries who may be eligible
for the extra help. To qualify, an individual must have total annual
income below $14,355 and resources limited to $10,000. The limits
for a married couple living together are higher: $19,245 in combined
annual income and $20,000 in resources. These resources can be
slightly higher—an additional $1,500 per person—if
some of the money will be used for burial expenses. Even if your
annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some help if
you support other family members who live with you; have earnings
from work; or live in Alaska or Hawaii.
Some beneficiaries will qualify for the extra financial help automatically.
Anyone who has both Medicare and Medicaid, or Medicare and Supplemental
Security Income, or anyone whose state pays his or her Medicare premiums,
will not have to complete an eligibility application.
Also, it is important that all beneficiaries understand that even
if they qualify for the extra help, they still need to enroll in
a Medicare-approved prescription drug plan to obtain both coverage
and the extra help.
So remember: it is not too
late to see if you qualify for some extra help with prescription
drug costs. More than three million people have already applied.
But if you are not one of them and you think that you might qualify
for the extra help, you can complete an online application at www.socialsecurity.gov.
Or you can contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 TTY 1-800-325-0778
and ask for an application in the mail, or request more information.
But the clock is ticking, so do it today, and then enroll in the
new Medicare prescription drug program between November 15, 2005
and May 15, 2006.
Jim Czechowicz is in the Office
of Public Affairs, Social Security, Minneapolis MN.
