Extra Help for People with Limited Incomes: Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
How Valuable is This Extra Help?
People on Medicare who qualify for Extra Help could save a lot of money paying for prescriptions - thousands of dollars a year in many cases. In fact, this special program will enable people with limited incomes and assets to afford almost all the medications they need.
People who qualify for the most help will pay no premiums or deductibles, and their co-payments for each prescription will be $1 or $2 for generics and $3 or $5 for brand-name drugs. People in nursing homes with both Medicare and Medicaid will pay nothing for their prescriptions.
Those with somewhat higher incomes will pay reduced monthly premiums and a reduced annual deductible of $50 a year. Their co-payments will be 15 percent of the cost of each prescription. Everyone who qualifies for Extra Help will get continuous drug coverage throughout the year.
Some people automatically qualify for Extra Help and will not need to apply for it. (Medicare has already notified them about this.) Anyone else who thinks they may be eligible for Extra Help must apply, as explained later in this document.
