Part D Extra Help (Low Income Subsidy)

The most readily available assistance program for Medicare is the Part D Extra Help program. This pays for 75% or more of the costs that come with Medicare's Prescription Drug Program (Part D). It is sometimes called the Low Income Subsidy program or LIS.

Extra Help has a higher income and assetts limit than programs such as the Medicare Savings Programs and Medicaid benefits. The Extra Help offers assistance to beneficiaries by helping them only pay medication expenses through the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. A beneficiary can be enrolled in a stand-alone prescription drug program or a Medicare Advantage drug plan.

(These numbers are accurate until March 2010.)

Enrollment in Extra Help is done through the Social Security Administration.An application can be submitted online or a paper application can be request by contacting CLAIM or visiting your local SSA office. Click here for help finding your local Social Security office.

You automatically get Extra Help if you:

• have both Medicare and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or
• have both Medicare and Medicaid.

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