The Vermont 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 Vermont Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Vermont medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Vermont 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 Vermont’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Vermont Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Vermont 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 | None — Vermont does not count savings for these programs |
| What Vermont calls the levels | Vermont runs the Medicare Savings Programs through its Medicaid agency and calls them QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary) and QI-1 (Qualifying Individual). |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | Yes. Vermont operates a state pharmaceutical assistance program called VPharm, administered by the Department of Vermont Health Access within the Agency of Human Services. |
| Where to apply | The application is taken by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security. |
The Three Levels of the Vermont 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.
Vermont labels: Vermont runs the Medicare Savings Programs through its Medicaid agency and calls them QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary) and QI-1 (Qualifying Individual).. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Vermont 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. Vermont’s figures: Federal (QMB $1,350 / SLMB $1,616 / QI $1,816 single; $1,824 / $2,184 / $2,455 couple).
Assets: none counted. Vermont is one of the states that dropped the asset test, so a paid-off house, savings or a second car do not disqualify you.
Vermont looks at the money you actually receive each month — Social Security, pensions, wages and similar income — and compares it to the standard for your household size. Some income is set aside rather than counted: a general disregard applies to income from any source, and a further disregard plus a portion of what remains is subtracted from money you earn from a job, so working applicants keep more.
If you are married and living with your spouse, both incomes are generally counted together against the couple standard. Vermont applies no resource or asset test to these programs.
The two levels behave differently, so this is worth understanding before you file. For QMB, Vermont cannot pay for months before you are approved — federal law bars retroactive QMB, and coverage instead begins the first day of the month after DVHA approves your application. That is why applying as early as possible matters.
For QI-1, Vermont can reach back a limited number of prior months and cover the Part B premium for that earlier window if you would have qualified then; the exact length of that window is UNVERIFIED here and comes from our verified data 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 Vermont SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Vermont Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
You do not file a separate Extra Help application in Vermont. Once DVHA approves you for QMB or QI-1, the state reports your enrollment to Social Security and the Medicare program, and you are automatically deemed eligible for the full Part D Low-Income Subsidy — the federal help that lowers your drug plan premium, deductible and copayments. Medicare will mail you a notice confirming the subsidy.
If you have already applied for Extra Help directly through Social Security, the state approval still overrides and gives you the full level.
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Vermont Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
Yes. Vermont operates a state pharmaceutical assistance program called VPharm, administered by the Department of Vermont Health Access within the Agency of Human Services. — Vermont runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The application is taken by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Vermont Medicare Savings Program
Where: The application is taken by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security. — application. Free help: Vermont’s SHIP is called the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, and its counselors are reached through the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-642-5119 (locally 802-865-0360), Monday through Friday..
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 Vermont 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 Vermont Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont 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 Vermont 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.
Key Takeaways: Vermont Medicare Savings Program
- It is a Medicaid program: the Vermont medicare savings program is applied for at the state Medicaid office, not through Medicare.
Official Sources
- Vermont Medicare Savings Programs: https://dvha.vermont.gov/members/medicare-savings-program — the Department of Vermont Health Access page for the Medicare Savings Program. A useful companion page written for consumers, maintained by Vermont Legal Aid, is https://vtlawhelp.org/medicare-savings-buy-programs. For SHIP counseling details, see https://asd.vermont.gov/services/ship, the Vermont Adult Services Division page.
- The application is taken by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), the state Medicaid agency — not by Medicare or Social Security.: https://dvha.vermont.gov/document/201p-application-electronic-fillable (Form 201P, the short application used only for the Medicare Savings Programs and VPharm). If you also want to be screened for full Medicaid at the same time, use the longer combined application, Form 205ALLMED, “Application for Health Coverage and Help Paying Costs,” available through https://info.healthconnect.vermont.gov. Signed applications and supporting documents may also be submitted through Vermont’s online Document Uploader by choosing “healthcare” as the program.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Vermont 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.