Extra Help is a Medicare program to help people with limited income and resources pay Medicare prescription drug costs. You may qualify for Extra Help, also called the low-income subsidy (LIS) if your yearly income and resources are below the following limits in 2024:

• Single person: Income less than $22,950 and resources less than $17,220
• Married person living with a spouse and no other dependents: Income less than $30,660 and resources less than $34,360

These amounts may change in 2025. You may qualify even if you have a higher income (for example, if you still work, live in Alaska or Hawaii, or have dependents living with you). Resources include money in a checking or savings account, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Resources don’t include your home, car, household items, burial plot, up to $1,500 for burial expenses (per person), or life insurance policies.

If you qualify for Extra Help and join a Medicare drug plan, you will get the following:

• Help paying your Medicare drug plan’s monthly premium, yearly deductible, coinsurance, and copayments
• No coverage gap
• No late enrollment penalty

You automatically qualify for Extra Help if you have Medicare and meet one of these conditions:

• You have full Medicaid coverage
• You get help from your state Medicaid program paying your Part B premiums (in a Medicare Savings Program)
• You get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits

To let you know you automatically qualify for Extra Help, Medicare will mail you a letter that you should keep for your records. You don’t need to apply for Extra Help if you get this letter.

• If you aren’t already in a Medicare drug plan, you must join one to use this Extra Help.
• If you don’t join a Medicare drug plan, Medicare may enroll you in one. If Medicare enrolls you in a plan, you will get a yellow or green letter letting you know when your coverage begins.
• Different plans cover different drugs. Check to see if the plan you’re enrolled in covers the drugs you use and if you can go to the pharmacies you want. Compare with other plans in your area.
• If you’re getting Extra Help, you can switch to another Medicare drug plan anytime. Your new coverage will be effective the first day of the next month.
• If you have Medicaid and live in certain institutions (like a nursing home) or get home and community-based services (see page 123), you pay nothing for your covered prescription drugs.

If you don’t want to join a Medicare drug plan (for example, because you want only your employer or union coverage), call the plan listed in your letter, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. Tell them you don’t want to be in a Medicare drug plan (you want to “opt out”). If you continue to qualify for Extra Help or if your employer or union coverage has creditable prescription drug coverage, you won’t have to pay a penalty if you join later.

Click here for a low-income subsidy application.

This information is intended to be general and informational in nature, and is not intended to provide you with legal, medical, tax, financial planning or other professional advice.