Delaware Medicare Savings Program 2026: QMB, SLMB and QI Limits

The Delaware 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 Delaware Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Delaware medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Delaware 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 Delaware’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.

Delaware Medicare Savings Program at a Glance (2026)

The Three Levels of the Delaware 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.

Delaware labels: Delaware uses the standard federal names and groups all three under the heading “Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Programs” on its Medicaid site.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.

Delaware 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. Delaware’s figures: Federal (QMB $1,350 / SLMB $1,616 / QI $1,816 single; $1,824 / $2,184 / $2,455 couple).

Assets: none counted. Delaware is one of the states that dropped the asset test, so a paid-off house, savings or a second car do not disqualify you.

Delaware counts income under SSI-related rules, because it is a 1634 state that follows Social Security’s definitions of what is and is not income. Gross monthly income before the Part B premium is deducted is the starting point, and standard SSI disregards are then subtracted, including a general disregard applied to unearned income and a larger disregard plus a share of remaining wages for people who still work.

Certain receipts are not income at all under those rules. A spouse living in the household has income counted alongside yours.

The three levels are not treated alike. QMB cannot be backdated: federal law makes QMB begin with a month after DMMA approves the application, and Delaware’s regulations expressly exclude QMB from the ordinary retroactive-eligibility provision, so bills already paid before approval will not be picked up. SLMB and QI can reach back to cover Part B premiums for months before the application, provided you were eligible in those months.

The exact number of retroactive months is UNVERIFIED here and comes from our 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 Delaware SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.

Delaware Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help

Approval for any of the three levels automatically makes a Delaware resident “deemed” eligible for the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy, commonly called Extra Help, at the full level. No second application is required — DMMA reports enrollees to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on a regular cycle, and CMS mails a notice confirming the subsidy.

The reverse path also exists: applying to Social Security for Extra Help on Form SSA-1020 generates a referral to Delaware Medicaid to be screened for a Medicare Savings Program.

Delaware Prescription Help Beyond Medicare

Yes. Delaware runs the Delaware Prescription Assistance Program, abbreviated DPAP, described at https://dhss.delaware.gov/dmma/home/dpap/. — Delaware runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is taken by Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.

How to Apply for the Delaware Medicare Savings Program

Where: The application is taken by Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security. — application. Free help: Delaware’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program is the Delaware Medicare Assistance Bureau, known as DMAB, and unusually it sits in the Delaware Department of Insurance rather than in the health department..

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 Delaware 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 Delaware Medicare Savings Program Calendar

New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware 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

• Delaware Medicare Savings Programs: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dmma/qmb/ is the single best official page, since it is DMMA’s own description of the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary programs and covers all three levels. Pair it with https://assist.dhss.delaware.gov/ when it is time to actually file, and with https://insurance.delaware.gov/divisions/dmab/ if a person wants a human being to sit with them. Current income figures should be confirmed against DMMA directly or with a DMAB counselor, because those thresholds change each year and are not quoted here.
• The application is taken by Medicaid, not by Medicare or Social Security.
• Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
• Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov

This Delaware 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.

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