The Maryland Medicare Savings Program pays your Medicare Part B premium — $202.90 a month in 2026 — and at the top level pays your deductibles and copays too. It is run by Maryland Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Maryland medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Maryland applies them, the asset rule, how it triggers Part D Extra Help, and where to apply.
Limits below are from the National Council on Aging’s 2026 table built on the federal poverty guidelines, checked against Maryland’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Maryland Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Maryland Medicare Savings Program at a Glance (2026)
| 2026 income limits (single) | Federal (QMB $1,350 / SLMB $1,616 / QI $1,816 single; $1,824 / $2,184 / $2,455 couple) |
| 2026 asset test | Federal ($9,950 single / $14,910 couple) |
| What Maryland calls the levels | Maryland uses the standard federal names for all three levels: the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program, the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) Program, and the Qualifying Individual (QI) Program. |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | Yes. |
| Where to apply | The application is handled by Maryland Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security. |
The Three Levels of the Maryland Medicare Savings Program
- QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): pays the Part A and Part B premiums and the deductibles, coinsurance and copays. Providers who take Medicare may not bill a QMB enrollee for Medicare cost-sharing at all.
- SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary): pays the Part B premium only.
- QI (Qualifying Individual): also pays the Part B premium only, with a slightly higher income limit; funding is capped and first-come, first-served each year.
Maryland labels: Maryland uses the standard federal names for all three levels: the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program, the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) Program, and the Qualifying Individual (QI) Program.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Maryland Medicare Savings Program Income and Asset Limits
The federal floors for a single person in 2026 are $1,350 a month for QMB, $1,616 for SLMB and $1,816 for QI, each including a $20 disregard. Maryland’s figures: Federal (QMB $1,350 / SLMB $1,616 / QI $1,816 single; $1,824 / $2,184 / $2,455 couple).
Assets: Federal ($9,950 single / $14,910 couple). The home, one vehicle, household goods and burial funds up to $1,500 do not count.
Maryland counts income under the rules it uses for aged, blind, or disabled adults living in the community, which follow Social Security’s SSI-style method rather than the tax-based method used for younger adults. Social Security benefits, pensions, wages, and similar regular payments are counted, and Maryland applies the standard general income disregard and earned-income disregards before comparing your income to the limit.
If you are married and living with your spouse, that spouse is included in the household and their income is counted too.
Maryland’s regulations do allow some coverage for months before the month you applied, but not for every level. For SLMB and for QI, the state may pay back to earlier calendar months in the same benefit period if you would have qualified in each of those months. For QMB, Maryland does not grant coverage for months before you applied; QMB begins prospectively.
The exact number of retroactive months allowed comes from our verified data file, so treat it as UNVERIFIED here.
The QMB Billing Protection Most People Never Use
Federal law forbids any provider who accepts Medicare from billing a QMB enrollee for Medicare deductibles, coinsurance or copays. If a bill arrives, the enrollee does not owe it. Show the QMB card, cite the rule, and if it continues report it to 1-800-MEDICARE or the Maryland SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Maryland Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Being approved for QMB, SLMB, or QI in Maryland automatically qualifies you for Medicare Part D Extra Help, also called the Low-Income Subsidy. Maryland reports your enrollment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which “deems” you eligible and notifies Social Security and your drug plan, so you do not have to file a separate Extra Help application with Social Security.
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Extra Help lowers your Part D premium, deductible, and drug copays and gives you a special enrollment period to change drug plans.
Maryland Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
Yes. — Maryland runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is handled by Maryland Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Maryland Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is handled by Maryland Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security. — application. Free help: Maryland’s counseling program is the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known locally as SHIP or the Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program, run by the Maryland Department of Aging through offices in every county and Baltimore City..
Bring the Medicare card, proof of all income, and — in states with an asset test — bank statements. A decision usually takes a few weeks; the Part B premium refund appears as a larger Social Security deposit once the change reaches Social Security.
Who Typically Qualifies for the Maryland Medicare Savings Program
A widow living on one Social Security check. A retired couple whose combined income is modest once one pension stopped. A person under 65 on Medicare through disability. Anyone who receives Supplemental Security Income already qualifies at the top level. Homeowners qualify as easily as renters, because the home is never counted, and in the states without an asset test savings are not counted either.
The Maryland Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Maryland medicare savings program limits in the weeks after, usually by March or April. A person who was just over the limit in December may be under it in April without their income changing. The Part B premium itself changes each January, so the value of the program rises with it. QI funding is allocated by calendar year and can run out; apply early rather than late.
If the Maryland Medicare Savings Program Application Is Denied
The denial notice states the reason and the deadline to ask for a hearing. The three fixable reasons are missing proof of income, income counted that should have been excluded, and — in asset-test states — a burial fund or life insurance that should not have been counted. Fix the reason and reapply; nothing prevents a second application. The state SHIP will review a denial for free.
The Maryland Medicare Savings Program Versus Full Medicaid
The program pays Medicare costs; it does not make you a Medicaid patient. You keep your doctors, your Medicare card and your plan. Full Medicaid, with its lower income limit, adds coverage Medicare does not have — long-term care above all. Many people qualify for the Maryland medicare savings program first and for full Medicaid only later, when care needs and costs rise. The two applications go to the same office.
What to Do Next
If you qualify for a Maryland medicare savings program, apply before you shop for plans: the premium help changes which Medigap or Advantage plan makes sense. Your SHIP counselor can do both in one visit.
Official Sources
- Maryland Medicare Savings Programs: https://health.maryland.gov/mmcp/eligibility/Pages/medicare-savings-programs.aspx
- The application is handled by Maryland Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security.: https://health.maryland.gov/mmcp/eligibility/Pages/medicare-savings-programs.aspx — the Maryland Department of Health page that explains the programs and links to the application. Applications may also be filed through the state benefits portal at https://mymdthink.maryland.gov (also reached as MarylandBenefits.gov), or on paper delivered or mailed to your Local Department of Social Services. The exact printed form number Maryland assigns to the Medicare Savings Program application is UNVERIFIED; ask your LDSS or a SHIP counselor for the current version.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Maryland medicare savings program guide was checked against the state Medicaid agency, CMS and the statute cited above in September 2026. Figures reset on their own calendars (most on January 1); if a number here disagrees with a notice you received, the notice wins — and please tell us. This page is general information, not legal, financial or medical advice.