The Michigan 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 Michigan Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Michigan medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Michigan 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 Michigan’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Michigan Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Michigan 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 Michigan calls the levels | Michigan runs the same three levels as the rest of the country, and the state groups them together under the heading Medicare Savings Programs, sometimes also called the Medicare Buy-In programs. |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | Michigan does not run a true State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program of the kind some states use to wrap around Medicare Part D, so for that question the answer is effectively NONE. |
| Where to apply | The application is taken by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security. |
The Three Levels of the Michigan 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.
Michigan labels: Michigan runs the same three levels as the rest of the country, and the state groups them together under the heading Medicare Savings Programs, sometimes also called the Medicare Buy-In programs.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Michigan 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. Michigan’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.
Michigan treats the Medicare Savings Programs as SSI-related Medicaid categories, so MDHHS uses SSI-style budgeting rather than tax-return income. That means it looks at countable net income, not gross pay, and certain amounts are set aside before the comparison — Michigan gives the standard unearned-income disregard to people drawing Social Security, and it disregards the annual Social Security cost-of-living increase during the early months of the year.
If you are married and living with your spouse, MDHHS ordinarily counts both spouses’ income and assets. Separated spouses and one-Medicare households are handled differently.
Michigan’s rules on backdating differ by level, and this surprises families. QMB is not retroactive at all in Michigan — it cannot cover past months, and MDHHS policy also excludes the month your application is being processed, so QMB coverage begins going forward. SLMB is different: it can be approved for retroactive Medicaid months as well as ongoing months, if your income would have qualified you then.
ALMB (QI) can reach retroactive months too, but only within the same calendar year in which MDHHS approves you. Ask MDHHS to check retroactive months.
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 Michigan SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Michigan Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Enrolling in a Michigan Medicare Savings Program automatically qualifies you for Medicare Part D Extra Help, the low-income subsidy that cuts drug plan premiums and copays. This happens through a federal process called deeming: once MDHHS approves you, the state reports it, and Social Security and Medicare treat you as eligible without a second form. You should receive a deemed-status notice in the mail.
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No separate Extra Help application is needed. The reverse also works — if you apply to Social Security for Extra Help, it forwards your information to MDHHS as an MSP referral.
Michigan Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
Michigan does not run a true State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program of the kind some states use to wrap around Medicare Part D, so for that question the answer is effectively NONE. — Michigan runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is taken by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Michigan Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is taken by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security. — application. Free help: Michigan’s SHIP is the Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program, known as MMAP. Its counselors are trained, unbiased volunteers who are not tied to any insurance company, and the help is free..
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 Michigan 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 Michigan Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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
- Michigan Medicare Savings Programs
- The application is taken by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Michigan 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.