Description:
The Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are working together to get you Extra Help with your Medicare prescription drug plan costs. If you have limited resources and income, you may qualify for Extra Help with the costs - monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription co-payments - related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. To find out if you qualify, Social Security will need to know the value of your savings, investments, and real estate (other than your home), and your income. If you are married and living with your spouse, we will need information about both of you.
By filing an Application for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (Form SSA-1020), Social Security will determine if you are eligible for the Extra Help. Most of the questions on the application deal with resources and income. Social Security will not ask for documentation initially to support the information you provide, but will match your information with data available from other Federal agencies.
You should complete this application for Extra Help on the Internet if:
You have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance); and
You live in one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia; and
Your combined savings, investments, and real estate are not worth more than $29,520, if you are married and living with your spouse, or $14,790 if you are not currently married or not living with your spouse. (Do NOT count your home, vehicles, personal possessions, life insurance, burial plots, irrevocable burial contracts or back payments from Social Security or SSI.) If you have more than those amounts, you may not qualify for the extra help. However, you can still enroll in an approved Medicare prescription drug plan for coverage.
EXCEPTION: Even if you meet these conditions, DO NOT complete this application if you have Medicare and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicare and Medicaid because you automatically will get the extra help.