Medicare Savings Programs by State Master Guide

Medicare Savings Programs by State rules decide whether the state will pay a person’s Medicare Part B premium — $202.90 a month in 2026 — and, for the lowest incomes, the deductibles and copays too. Every state runs the same four federal programs, but thirteen states have dropped the asset test and a dozen have raised the income limits above the federal figure.

This directory links every state’s guide. Each one gives the 2026 income limit for QMB, SLMB and QI as the state applies it, says whether the state counts assets, names the office that takes the application, explains what each program pays, and points to the state prescription program where one exists. Choose your state to see the medicare savings programs by state rules that apply to you.

Quick Facts — Medicare Savings Programs by State (2026)

  • 50 state guides in this medicare savings programs by state directory — every income and asset figure read from the state’s own 2026 limits, not the federal default
  • QMB pays the most — the Part B premium, the Part A and B deductibles, and the copays; SLMB and QI pay the Part B premium only
  • 13 states have no asset test — savings do not matter at all in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington
  • Enrolling brings Extra Help automatically — anyone in a Medicare Savings Program is deemed eligible for the Part D low-income subsidy
  • The limits move every year — they follow the federal poverty guidelines published each winter, so a 2025 figure is already out of date

Medicare Savings Programs by State: All 50 State Guides

Every row of this medicare savings programs by state directory links to the state’s full guide. The Next Step column points to that state’s Medicare overview guide — the SHIP contact and the plan landscape — and the last column links the same state’s Medigap, Medicare Advantage and nursing home Medicaid guides.

State Guide Next Step Other Guides for This State
Alabama Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Alaska Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Arizona Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Arkansas Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
California Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Colorado Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Connecticut Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Delaware Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Florida Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Georgia Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Hawaii Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Idaho Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Illinois Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Indiana Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Iowa Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Kansas Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Kentucky Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Louisiana Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Maine Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Maryland Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Massachusetts Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Michigan Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Minnesota Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Mississippi Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Missouri Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Montana Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Nebraska Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Nevada Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
New Hampshire Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
New Jersey Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
New Mexico Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
New York Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
North Carolina Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
North Dakota Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Ohio Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Oklahoma Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Oregon Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Pennsylvania Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Rhode Island Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
South Carolina Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
South Dakota Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Tennessee Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Texas Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Utah Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Vermont Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Virginia Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Washington Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
West Virginia Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Wisconsin Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid
Wyoming Full Guide → Medicare Guide Medigap Plans · Medicare Advantage · Nursing Home Medicaid

How to Use This Medicare Savings Programs by State Directory

If the Part B premium is coming out of a small Social Security check, open your state’s guide and read the limits section first. It gives the 2026 monthly income line for each program in your state, and the couple figure if you are married. A surprising number of people are under the QI line and do not know it.

If you have some savings, read the asset section next. In thirteen states there is no asset test at all, and in the rest the 2026 limit is $9,950 for a single person, not counting the home, one car, or burial funds. The medicare savings programs by state guides give each state’s actual rule, because a family that assumes savings disqualify them often never applies.

Read the apply section last. The application goes to the state Medicaid office, not to Medicare or Social Security, and the guide names it.

Why So Many Eligible People Never Enroll

The programs are run by state Medicaid agencies, so most people assume they are Medicaid and that they earn too much. They are not Medicaid. A single person with $1,800 a month and $9,000 in the bank qualifies for QI in the federal states, and the medicare savings programs by state guides show how much higher the line sits in the states that raised it.

The second reason is the word savings. People hear asset test and picture the nursing home rules. The MSP asset limit is nearly five times the nursing home figure, thirteen states have none, and California’s is $130,000. The house and the car are never counted anywhere.

The third reason is that nobody sends a letter. Social Security does not screen for it and Medicare does not enroll people. The only way in is to apply, and the office that takes the form is the one families are least likely to call.

What the Application Actually Needs

Proof of income from every source — the Social Security award letter, any pension statement, and pay stubs if still working. Proof of assets where the state counts them: bank statements, and the value of any stocks or life insurance with cash value. The Medicare card, and a photo ID. That is the whole list in most states.

Income is counted the way SSI counts it. The first $20 a month of any income is ignored, and for people who work, the first $65 of wages plus half the rest is ignored too. A state that says the QMB line is $1,350 is really asking whether counted income after those disregards is under $1,350, which is why the medicare savings programs by state guides tell readers to apply even when they look slightly over.

Approval takes roughly 45 days. QMB starts the month after approval; SLMB and QI can reach back three months, and Social Security refunds the premiums it already took, so the first check after approval is larger than usual.

What to Do Today If the Premium Is a Struggle

Add up gross monthly income before the Part B deduction. Subtract $20. Compare that to the QI line in your state’s guide — $1,816 for a single person in the federal states, higher in a dozen others. If you are under it, you qualify for at least the premium payback, and the application should go in this week.

Then check assets against your state’s rule. If your state has no test, skip this step. If it does, count bank accounts, investments and cash-value life insurance only; leave the home, the car and any burial plan out.

Then open the medicare savings programs by state guide for your state for the office, the form, and the state prescription program if one exists. The SHIP counselor listed in the guide will complete the application with you at no charge, and that is the fastest route for anyone unsure which program they land in.

Need More Than Premium Help?

A Medicare Savings Program pays the premium and the copays. It does not pay for a nursing home. When the question becomes long-term care, the limits, the spouse protections and the look-back rule are a different program with different figures in every state:

Official Sources

This medicare savings programs by state directory was last rebuilt from the live guides in September 2026. Every 2026 income and asset figure in the state guides above was read from the National Council on Aging’s March 2026 state-by-state eligibility table, which is built from the 2026 federal poverty guidelines, and cross-checked against the state page where the state departs from the federal figure. Not legal or financial advice.

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