The Nebraska 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 Nebraska Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Nebraska medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Nebraska 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 Nebraska’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Nebraska Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Nebraska 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 Nebraska calls the levels | Nebraska uses the standard federal names and groups them together as the Medicare Savings Programs, administered by the Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care. |
| 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 Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care — not by Medicare or Social Security. |
The Three Levels of the Nebraska 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.
Nebraska labels: Nebraska uses the standard federal names and groups them together as the Medicare Savings Programs, administered by the Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Nebraska 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. Nebraska’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.
These are aged, blind and disabled (non-MAGI) categories, so Nebraska counts income using the older Supplemental Security Income-style rules rather than the tax-based rules used for younger adults. In practice that means Social Security benefits, pensions, wages and similar regular money are looked at, while certain amounts are set aside and not counted before the state compares the result to its limit.
If a married couple lives together, the spouse’s income is generally considered as well. The precise exclusions and how a spouse is treated in every living situation is UNVERIFIED.
Nebraska treats the two situations differently, and this surprises families. For the QMB level, state eligibility material follows the federal rule that help starts after the month the state approves the case, so QMB is not paid backward for bills already incurred.
Nebraska does have a general retroactive Medicaid provision covering months before the application when the person met all the rules in those months, described in the department’s retroactive Medicaid document at https://dhhs.ne.gov/Documents/477-000-017.pdf. Exactly how that provision applies to SLMB and QI is UNVERIFIED.
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 Nebraska SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Nebraska Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Approval for any of the three levels in Nebraska automatically makes the person “deemed” eligible for the full Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, commonly called Extra Help. The family does not fill out a second Extra Help application; DHHS reports the approval to the federal government, which notifies the drug plan. Medicare then sends a letter confirming the lower drug costs.
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Anyone who wants to apply for Extra Help separately, before or instead of an MSP decision, may still do so through the Social Security Administration.
Nebraska Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
NONE. — Nebraska runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is taken by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care — not by Medicare or Social Security. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Nebraska Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is taken by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care — not by Medicare or Social Security. — application. Free help: Free, unbiased, one-on-one help is available from the Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Information Program, known as Nebraska SHIP, which is housed at the Nebraska Department of Insurance and paired with the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)..
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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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
- Nebraska Medicare Savings Programs: https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Medicaid-Eligibility.aspx is the single best starting page, because it is the state’s own Medicaid eligibility page and links onward to the application. For the underlying eligibility rules, the department publishes its Title 477 Medicaid Eligibility regulations at https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Title-477.aspx, and posts the current income, poverty level and resource figures in a guidance document at https://dhhs.ne.gov/Guidance%20Docs/Medicaid%20Income%20Levels,%20Federal%20Poverty%20Levels,%20and%20Resources.pdf. A dedicated Nebraska page devoted only to the Medicare Savings Programs is UNVERIFIED.
- The application is taken by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care — not by Medicare or Social Security.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Nebraska 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.