News
More people will be eligible for extra help with Medicare prescription drug (Part D) plans in 2010
Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, the Medicare low-income subsidy for prescription drugs (Part D) will no longer consider two factors when tabulating net worth:
1. Life insurance
2. Help with household expenses—such as a someone, including a family member who does not live with the Medicare recipient—paying for rent, food, mortgage, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water, and property taxes.
This change will simply exclude these questions from the eligibility application.
In February 2010, Social Security will send out a notice regarding this change to the 3.2 to 3.5 million people who may be eligible for low income subsidy.
As the low income subsidy data changes this will affect the data that Social Security transmits to Medicaid. So the data will impact state Medicaid Medical Savings Plans.
