Financial Help Available for Medicare Recipients

If you are receiving Medicare benefits but even with prescription coverage do not have enough money for drugs or premium, there is help available through the Social Security Administration.

Many people are not aware of this assistance.  The assistance is $3,600 that can go toward your prescriptions or your premiums.  This assistance is available once every year.  This year, if you log onto the Social Security website at www.ssa.gov, you will be able to find the assistance by clicking on the box that says “I helped my mother today.”

There are a few limitations to this assistance.  You must be receiving Medicare benefits.  If you are single, you must make $15,600 or less annually.  If you are married, you must make $21,000 or less as a couple annually.  However; the Social Security Administration suggests that even if you are close to those numbers, you should check into receiving this benefit.  You can apply on line on the Social Security Website, which is available 24 hours every day.

In addition to the information above, there is another plus to the program.  The individual who is applying for this extra help does not need to be the one filling out the application.  For instance, if the individual has a caregiver or spouse that could do the paperwork for them, especially if the individual has a disability that prevents them from doing the paperwork themselves, Social Security permits the caregiver, family member, friend or spouse to file on the individual’s behalf.

Since prescription drugs and extra premiums are of extreme concern to many people receiving Medicare, this program will provide relief for a great number of people.  The program has been available, but has not been heavily marketed by the Social Security Administration.

If you are a Medicare recipient and need extra financial assistance for your premiums, prescriptions or other Medicare-related issues, be sure to go to www.ssa.gov, the official Social Security Website and explore this little-known option for help.