The Georgia 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 Georgia Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Georgia medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Georgia 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 Georgia’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Georgia Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Georgia 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 Georgia calls the levels | Georgia uses the standard federal names rather than a state-specific brand. |
| 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 state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or a Medicare plan. |
The Three Levels of the Georgia 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.
Georgia labels: Georgia uses the standard federal names rather than a state-specific brand.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Georgia 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. Georgia’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.
Georgia counts income under the same rules used for its Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid categories, which follow Supplemental Security Income methodology. Gross Social Security, pension and other regular unearned income is counted, but a portion of unearned income and a further portion of earnings are disregarded before the total is compared to the limit, and SNAP benefits are not counted as income.
If a married applicant lives with a spouse who is not applying, DFCS performs spouse-to-spouse deeming, meaning some of that spouse’s income is treated as available to the applicant.
The three levels are not treated the same way, which surprises many families. Under QMB there is no retroactive coverage at all; the state manual says QMB begins the first day of the month after the month the eligibility decision is completed, and the applicant must meet the rules in the approval month and the following month.
SLMB and QI-1 are different: those benefits can be granted for months before the application month, going back a limited number of prior months, with QI-1 further restricted so it cannot reach back past the start of the current calendar year.
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 Georgia SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Georgia Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Approval for QMB, SLMB or QI-1 automatically makes a person “deemed” eligible for the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy, which Medicare calls Extra Help, so no separate Extra Help application is needed once the Georgia Medicare Savings Program is approved. The state reports the enrollment and the Social Security Administration and Medicare handle the subsidy.
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The relationship also runs the other direction: when someone files an Extra Help application with Social Security, that filing is transmitted to Georgia and DFCS treats it as an application for the Medicare Savings Programs.
Georgia Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
NONE. — Georgia runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is taken by the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or a Medicare plan. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Georgia Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is taken by the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or a Medicare plan. — application. Free help: Georgia’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program is called Georgia SHIP, also widely known as GeorgiaCares, and it is administered by the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services..
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 Georgia 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 Georgia Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Georgia 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 Georgia 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 Georgia 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 Georgia 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 Georgia 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
- Georgia Medicare Savings Programs: https://medicaid.georgia.gov/medicare-savings-plans-programs-faqs is the single best official page, because it names QMB, SLMB and QI, explains what each one pays, and gives the two ways to apply. For the underlying caseworker policy a family can also read the Georgia Medicaid eligibility manual sections at https://pamms.dhs.ga.gov/dfcs/medicaid/2143/ for QMB, https://pamms.dhs.ga.gov/dfcs/medicaid/2144/ for SLMB, and https://pamms.dhs.ga.gov/dfcs/medicaid/2145/ for Qualifying Individuals – 1.
- The application is taken by the state Medicaid agency, not by Medicare or a Medicare plan.: https://gateway.ga.gov is the online application portal, and the paper form is Form 700, “Application for Medicaid & Medicare Savings for Qualified Beneficiaries,” posted at https://dfcs.georgia.gov/document/form/medicaidmedicare-savings-form-700/download. Georgia Medicaid’s own instructions say to apply online at Georgia Gateway or to call or visit a local DFCS office and request the Form 700 application, which is the short application used specifically for these Medicare-related categories rather than the longer full Medicaid application.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Georgia 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.