Need Help With Medicare Expenses? Check Out the QMB and SLMB Programs
by: Legal Hotline for Older Iowans
The State of Iowa offers the QMB and SLMB programs to help pay for certain Medicare related expenses. For example, both QMB and SLMB pay your Medicare Part B premium. The payment of this $99.90 premium is a major cost savings for many retirees. This premium is ordinarily deducted directly from your social security. It is one of those expenses that you never really see, and so don’t often think about – kind of like the money an employer withholds from a paycheck. You pay this premium in order to receive Medicare Part B healthcare benefits. This is the part of Medicare that pays, among other things, 80% of the cost to visit your doctor’s office.
To be eligible for QMB and SLMB, you must be on Medicare and meet certain income and resource guidelines. The resource guidelines are the same for both QMB and SLMB. You can have resources of up to $6,940 for an individual and $10,410 for a couple. Resources include any cash, savings, investments, extra vehicles, real estate other than your home and various other kinds of property. Resources do not include your home, one car, household possessions and some burial funds. The income guidelines for QMB and SLMB are different:
For the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, the maximum monthly income is $928 for one person or $1,246 for a couple. Income includes Social Security benefits, pensions, wages and interest. As explained above, the QMB program pays the monthly Part B premium of $99.90. It also pays the hospital deductible, daily coinsurance for extended hospitalizations and skilled nursing care, the $140 Part B deductible and the 20% coinsurance for Part B expenses. Thus, the QMB program generally pays all of the expenses that a Medicare Supplement insurance policy would pay, plus the $99.90 payment for Medicare Part B.
For the Specified Low-income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) and Expanded SLMB (E-SLMB) programs, the maximum monthly income is $1,109 for one person and $1,491 for a couple. As explained earlier, these programs pays the monthly Part B premium of $99.90, a major cost saving for many retirees and others on Medicare.
If you think you are eligible for either of the above programs, you should apply at your local Department of Human Services office. You can find the address and phone number in your phone book. If you have any questions about the QMB or SLMB programs, please contact the Legal Hotline for Older Iowans or the Department of Human Services.
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