The Nevada 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 Nevada Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Nevada medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Nevada 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 Nevada’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Nevada Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Nevada Medicare Savings Program: Recent Law Updates
- December 31, 2023 — Medicare Savings Programs: Nevada’s Senior Rx and Disability Rx state prescription assistance program ended on December 31, 2023; former members are now sent to the Nevada Medicare Assistance Program (MAP) for Part D help, and a subgrant-based Healthcare Support and Assistance program replaced it. (source)
Every date above is the date the change took effect, not the date this page was checked. Confirm any figure with the office named below before you act on it.
Nevada 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 Nevada calls the levels | Nevada uses the standard federal names, grouping them in policy under Medical Assistance to the Aged, Blind and Disabled, abbreviated MAABD. |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | Nevada previously ran a true state pharmaceutical assistance program through the Aging and Disability Services Division, called the Senior Rx and Disability Rx Program (Senior Rx / Disability Rx), which subsidized Part D and Medicare Advantage drug premiums. |
| Where to apply | The application is taken by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) — the state Medicaid eligibility agency — not by Medicare or the Social Security Administration. |
The Three Levels of the Nevada 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.
Nevada labels: Nevada uses the standard federal names, grouping them in policy under Medical Assistance to the Aged, Blind and Disabled, abbreviated MAABD.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Nevada 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. Nevada’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.
Nevada does not use the MAGI tax-based rules for these programs. Instead DWSS applies SSI-related budgeting, the same methodology the Social Security Administration uses, which lets the state be no more restrictive than SSI.
Certain income is set aside before your total is compared to the limit, including a general disregard applied to most unearned income and a further exclusion applied to wages, so working applicants often count lower than they expect. If you are married and living with your spouse, spouse-to-spouse deeming applies and that spouse’s income is considered.
The two programs behave differently. For QMB, Nevada follows federal rules under which coverage starts prospectively — the month after DWSS approves the case — so QMB is not paid backward for months before the decision.
For SLMB and QI, Nevada’s MAABD policy allows coverage for a limited number of months before the month you applied, provided you would have qualified in each of those earlier months and ask for that review. The exact number of prior months is UNVERIFIED here; confirm it against the verified figures 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 Nevada SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
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Nevada Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
You do not file a separate Extra Help application in Nevada. Once DWSS approves you for QMB, SLMB, or QI, the state reports that enrollment and you are automatically deemed eligible for the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy, which Medicare calls Extra Help.
The relationship also runs the other direction: DWSS policy states that when the Social Security Administration transmits an Extra Help applicant’s data to Nevada, DWSS must treat that transmitted information as an application for the Medicare Beneficiary programs and act on it.
Nevada Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
Nevada previously ran a true state pharmaceutical assistance program through the Aging and Disability Services Division, called the Senior Rx and Disability Rx Program (Senior Rx / Disability Rx), which subsidized Part D and Medicare Advantage drug premiums. — Nevada runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help.
Ask The application is taken by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) — the state Medicaid eligibility agency — not by Medicare or the Social Security Administration. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Nevada Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is taken by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) — the state Medicaid eligibility agency — not by Medicare or the Social Security Administration. — application. Free help: Nevada’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program is delivered as part of the Medicare Assistance Program, or MAP, run by the Aging and Disability Services Division..
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 Nevada 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 Nevada Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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
- Nevada Medicare Savings Programs
- The application is taken by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) — the state Medicaid eligibility agency — not by Medicare or the Social Security Administration.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Nevada 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.