How can I help someone with their prescription costs?
Now, you can help someone you care about apply for Extra Help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. Anyone who has Medicare can get Medicare prescription drug coverage. Some people with limited resources and income also may be able to get 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 about $4,000 per year. Many people qualify for these big savings and don't even know it. To find out if someone is eligible, Social Security will need to know the value of their savings, investments, real estate (other than their home), and their income. 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:
- Reside in one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia;
- Have resources limited to $13,070 for an individual or $26,120 for a married couple living together. Resources include such things as bank accounts, stocks, and bonds. We do not count their home, car, and any life insurance policy as resources; and
- Have annual income limited to $16,755 for an individual or $22,695 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. 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.
It is easy to help someone apply for Extra Help. Just help them complete Social Security's Application for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (Form SSA-1020). You can help them:
- Apply online at www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp;
- Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to apply over the phone or to request an application; or
- Apply at their local Social Security office.
To help Medicare beneficiaries apply for Extra Help, there is a worksheet on the opposite page. The worksheet is not an application but writing down the information it asks for will make it easier to complete the application for Extra Help.
Ask whomever 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, life insurance policies, or personal possessions.
- Review all their income.
- Gather their records in advance to save time.
What documents can help them prepare in advance?
Can State agencies help them with their Medicare costs?
When Medicare beneficiaries apply for Extra Help, they also can start their application process for the Medicare Savings Programs—State programs that provide help with other Medicare costs. Social Security will send the beneficiaries' information to their State unless they tell us not to on the Extra Help application. The State will contact the beneficiaries to help them apply for a Medicare Savings Program.
How can I get more information?
For more information about Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Social Security representatives are available to help complete the application. The sooner they apply the sooner they will begin receiving benefits.
To learn more about the Medicare Savings Programs, Medicare prescription drug plans, how to enroll in a plan, or to request a copy of the Medicare & You handbook, please visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048). The State Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (SHIP) also can help answer Medicare questions. You can find their local SHIP contact information in the back of their Medicare handbook, online at www.medicare.gov under "Help & Support," or you can request it when you call.
We need to know information about their (and their spouse's, if they are married and living together) resources and income:
| 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 | $ |
| 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 (e.g., private or State disability payments) | $ |
| Income | Annual Amount |
| Wages | $ |
| Net earnings from self-employment | $ |
Our website is a valuable resource for information about all of Social Security’s programs. There are a number of things you can do online.
In addition to using our website, you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213. We treat all calls confidentially. We can answer specific questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Generally, you’ll have a shorter wait time if you call during the week after Tuesday. We can provide information by automated phone service 24 hours a day. (You can use our automated response system to tell us a new address or request a replacement Medicare card.) If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may 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.
