The Mississippi 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 Mississippi Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Mississippi medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Mississippi 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 Mississippi’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Mississippi Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Mississippi Medicare Savings Program at a Glance (2026)
| 2026 income limits (single) | Federal with a $50 disregard: QMB $1,380 / SLMB $1,646 / QI $1,846 |
| 2026 asset test | None — Mississippi does not count savings for these programs |
| What Mississippi calls the levels | Mississippi groups this help under the umbrella name Medicare Cost-Sharing and runs three levels. |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | NONE. |
| Where to apply | The application is taken by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or by the Social Security Administration. |
The Three Levels of the Mississippi 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.
Mississippi labels: Mississippi groups this help under the umbrella name Medicare Cost-Sharing and runs three levels.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Mississippi 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. Mississippi’s figures: Federal with a $50 disregard: QMB $1,380 / SLMB $1,646 / QI $1,846.
Assets: none counted. Mississippi is one of the states that dropped the asset test, so a paid-off house, savings or a second car do not disqualify you.
Mississippi decides these three programs using the Supplemental Security Income methodology rather than the tax-based rules used for children and families, so the state looks at monthly income actually received. Social Security benefits, pensions, annuities, wages, interest and similar payments are counted, with the standard SSI-type general and earned income disregards subtracted before the comparison is made.
If a married couple lives together, both spouses’ income is considered and the couple figure is used. The state’s own guide says these groups have no resource test.
Mississippi does grant some retroactive coverage, but it is not the same at every level. For the SLMB and QI levels, the state’s eligibility guide says coverage can begin with the month the person actually qualified, which may fall before the month the application was filed, so unpaid Part B premiums from those earlier months can be picked up.
Retroactive benefits are not allowed for people approved for QMB only; QMB begins later. The exact number of months backward is UNVERIFIED here and comes from the verified data file.
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 Mississippi SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Mississippi Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Being approved for any of the three Mississippi cost-sharing levels makes a person eligible for the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, commonly called Extra Help, which lowers the drug plan premium and prescription costs. In practice the approval is reported so the subsidy follows automatically and a separate Extra Help application is not required.
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Anyone who wants to file directly may still do so: a Medicaid Regional Office can supply the form, or a person can apply at a Social Security office or at https://www.ssa.gov/medicare/part-d-extra-help.
Mississippi Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
NONE. — Mississippi runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is taken by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or by the Social Security Administration. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Mississippi Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is taken by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or by the Social Security Administration. — application. Free help: Mississippi’s counseling program is the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, usually written simply as Mississippi SHIP, and it is housed at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services, at 750 North State Street in Jackson..
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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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
- Mississippi Medicare Savings Programs: https://medicaid.ms.gov/medicaid-coverage/who-qualifies-for-coverage/medicare-cost-sharing/ is the single best official page. It is maintained by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, describes all three cost-sharing levels in plain language, explains what each one pays toward Medicare, and directs applicants to the regional office serving their county. The Division also posts a printable companion guide, Medicare Cost Sharing, updated each year, at https://medicaid.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Medicare-Cost-Sharing-2026.pdf. Families who prefer to be walked through the process should pair that page with the Mississippi SHIP phone number above.
- The application is taken by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or by the Social Security Administration.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Mississippi 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.