|
| |
Help to Pay Health Care Costs
|
|
Medicaid has programs that pay some or
all of Medicare’s premiums and may also pay Medicare deductibles and coinsurance for
certain people who are entitled to Medicare and have a low income. You must have Medicare
Hospital Insurance (Part A). If you are not sure if you have Part A, look on your Medicare
card (red, white, and blue card). It will show “Hospital Insurance (Part A)” on
the lower left corner of the card. You can also call your local Social Security
Administration office, or call SSA at 1-800-772-1213.
If you have Part A, your income is
limited (see below), and your financial resources such as bank accounts, stocks, and bonds
are not more than $4,000 for an individual, or $6,000 for a couple, you may qualify for
assistance as a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare
Beneficiary (SLMB), or Qualifying Individual (QI).
For more information about these
programs, call your State, county, or local medical assistance office. Check your phone
directory for the office nearest you. You can find these offices listed under Medicaid,
Social Services, Medical Assistance, Public Assistance, Human Services, or Community
Services. You may also call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
(TTY/TDD:
1-877-486-2048 for the hearing and speech impaired) to find the phone number in your
State.
2000 Monthly Income Limit*
|
Individual
|
Couple
|
Program Pays Medicare’s... |
| QMB |
$716 |
$958 |
Premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance |
| SLMB |
$855
|
$1,145 |
Monthly Part B premiums |
| QI-1 |
$960
|
$1,286
|
Monthly
Part B premiums |
| QI-2 |
$1,238 |
$1,661 |
A small part of the monthly Part B premium |
*Slightly higher
amounts are allowed in Alaska and Hawaii. Income limits will increase slightly in 2001,
and new limits will be available by April 1, 2001. These programs may not be available in
Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and
American Samoa.
*This information was taken from the
Health Care Financing Administration’s, “Do You Need Help to Pay Health Care
Costs?”. This is an Adobe
Acrobat file.
|
|
