Medicare Savings Program

AARP’s Public Policy Institute released a report titled “Underused Medicare Savings Programs Can Help Many More Older Adults Afford Health Care”. Medicare Savings Programs or MSPs provide financial assistance with certain Medicare costs for eligible low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and are administered by state Medicaid agencies. According to the report, about 16 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in MSPs; however, the number of individuals eligible for these programs is estimated to be much higher. The paper discusses the findings from the organization’s analysis and research, and proposes areas states can consider to increase enrollment and expand eligibility.

On Thursday, February 24, 2022, CMS released a CMCS Informational Bulletin with the updated 2022 Federal Poverty Level Standards. The 2022 guidelines reflect the 4.7 percent price increase between calendar years 2020 and 2021. After this inflation adjustment, the guidelines are rounded and adjusted to standardize the differences between family and household sizes. The informational bulletin also includes a 2022 Dual Eligible Standards chart that displays the new standards for the Medicare Savings Program categories.

On March 18, 2021 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Medicaid Informational Bulletin with the updated 2021 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) Standards. The bulletin also includes the 2021 Dual Eligible Standards chart that displays the new standards for the Medicare Savings Program categories.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) released a fact sheet that provides information for the Medicare Extra Help/Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS). The fact sheet includes information on redeeming, redeterminations, and reassignment for the LIS/Extra Help program.

These resources are intended to be used for education and outreach to raise awareness about the availability of Medicare benefits for low-income beneficiaries, namely the Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) and the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS/Extra Help) program. These outreach materials include posters to educate Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities about the low-income subsidies.