There are 4 categories of Medicare Savings Program (MSP): QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary, for participants with income of 100% FPL or less), SLMB (Specified Low-income Medicare Beneficiary, for participants with income between 100% and 120% FPL), QI (Qualifying Individual, for participants with income between 120% and 135% FPL), and QDWI (Qualified Disabled Working Individuals, for participants with income up to 200% FPL). The 2021 income and resource limits for each category along with the benefits are summarized in the following table. (source: https://medicare.gov)
|
QMB |
SLMB |
QI |
QDWI | |
|
(monthly income) | ||||
|
single |
$1,094.00 |
$1,308.00 |
$1,469.00 |
$4,379.00 |
|
couple |
$1,472.00 |
$1,762.00 |
$1,980.00 |
$5,892.00 |
|
resource | ||||
|
single |
$7,970.00 |
$7,970.00 |
$7,970.00 |
$4,000.00 |
|
couple |
$11,960.00 |
$11,960.00 |
$11,960.00 |
$6,000.00 |
Resources include: money in your bank accounts, stocks, and bonds. Your home, car, burial plot, $1500 for burial expenses, and furniture etc. are not counted toward the resources. Note that the amounts are for year 2021, they change/increase every year.
If you qualify for the QMB, SLMB, or QI program, you automatically qualify to get Extra Help (i.e., LIS) that pays for Medicare drug premium and/or cost shares. In other words, if your income is 150% FPL or less, you get full LIS. You can still get partial LIS with income up to 150% FPL.
In addition to these 4 categories, there is also QMB Plus which means the QMB participants are also eligible for benefits/services covered under their state’s Medicaid program. Likewise, SLMB Plus means the SLMB participants are also covered under Medicaid.
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