Medicare Extra Help

What Extra Help is

Extra Help is a Medicare program. It helps people with limited income and resources pay for Medicare drug coverage, called Part D.

It helps pay for three things: your drug plan premium, your deductible, and what you pay for your prescriptions.

You may also hear it called the Part D Low-Income Subsidy. That is the same program.

To be considered for Extra Help, you must live in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia, and you must have Medicare.

Since 2024, everyone who qualifies for Extra Help gets the full amount of help. There is no partial level anymore.

The 2026 limits

These are the limits for 2026. Your income and your resources must both be below these amounts.

All four figures above are 2026 figures from Medicare.gov.

The income limits are higher in Alaska and Hawaii.

These limits can go up each year. Medicare.gov has the current year's figures.

What counts as resources — and what does not

“Resources” means things you own that could be turned into money.

Some people get it automatically

Some people get Extra Help without applying. You do not need to apply if any of these is true for you:

• You have full Medicaid coverage.
• You are in a Medicare Savings Program. That means your state helps pay your Medicare premiums.
• You get Supplemental Security Income, also called SSI.

After you qualify

Once you qualify, Medicare enrolls you in a drug plan. In that plan, you pay $0 for the premium and $0 for the deductible. Those are 2026 figures.

You may choose a different drug plan if you want. But you may pay more if that plan does not offer the $0 premium and deductible.

How to apply — it is free

Applying for Extra Help is free. You can apply at any time. You apply with Social Security, in any of these three ways:

• Online Go to SSA.gov/extrahelp
• By phone Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. If you use a TTY, call 1-800-325-0778.
• In person Visit your local Social Security office.

Never pay anyone to apply for you. Applying is free.

For more official information, go to Medicare.gov/extrahelp.