Questions & answers · Health insurance
What is Extra Help for Medicare drug costs and who qualifies?
Health insuranceBuying a policyChecked Nov 6, 2026
From K.Actuary, founded by Sangmin Kwon, ASA · sources checked 2026-11-06 · Source: Medicare.gov · Help with drug costs · page text View original ↗
In short
- Extra Help pays part of your Part D drug costs.
- You get it automatically if you have full Medicaid, SSI, or state help with Part B.
- If not, you can apply.
What this means
Medicare.gov says Extra Help can pay drug plan (Part D) premiums, deductibles, coinsurance and other costs [1]. You also won't pay a Part D late penalty while you get Extra Help [1].
You get Extra Help automatically if you have full Medicaid. You also get it if your state helps pay your Part B premium through a Medicare Savings Program, or if you get SSI payments [1]. If not, you can apply [1]. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free help to apply [1].
In most cases your income and resources need to be below a limit. For 2026 the page lists $23,940 income and $18,090 resources for one person. For a married couple it lists $32,460 and $36,100 [1]. Alaska and Hawaii differ [1].
Your next step
Check if you get SSI, full Medicaid, or help with your Part B premium. If not, apply for Extra Help or call your SHIP for free help. The sources give no deadline.
Check it yourself
Limits go up each year, and what counts as income is listed on the Medicare.gov page. Your state decides Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs — "Don't know yet" here.
Where this comes from (1)
[1] Medicare.gov · Help with drug costs · page text · checked 2026-11-06
pay Medicare drug coverage (Part D) premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and other costs … You also won't have to pay a Part D late enrollment penalty while you get Extra Help … You'll get Extra Help automatically if you get: Full-benefit Medicaid coverage Help from your state paying your Part B premiums (from a Medicare Savings Program ) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments from Social Security … If you don't …
How we found this
We matched your question to 1 official source, quoted the exact lines, and re-checked each quote against its source on 2026-11-06.
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This answer quotes the official sources listed above, with the date we checked them. Your own policy, notice and state rules control. We are not your lawyer or your insurer. We don’t file, argue or negotiate claims for you — you send any letter or form yourself.
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Answer id CQ4712. Spotted an error? Tell us.