The Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This Wisconsin medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This Wisconsin Medicare Savings Program Guide:
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin calls the levels | Wisconsin uses the federal tier names but with one local twist. |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | Yes. Wisconsin runs SeniorCare, formally the SeniorCare Prescription Drug Assistance Program, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services under a federal Medicaid demonstration waiver. |
| Where to apply | The Medicare Savings Programs are Medicaid benefits, so Medicare does not take the application. |
The Three Levels of the Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin labels: Wisconsin uses the federal tier names but with one local twist.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin’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.
Wisconsin counts income for these programs using the SSI-related method rather than the spousal impoverishment rules used for nursing home Medicaid.
Your Social Security benefit, pensions, and most other regular payments count, while certain amounts are set aside as disregards before your countable figure is compared to the limit; the state describes this as applying “certain credits.” A spouse’s income does count when the two of you live together, because the test group is generally both of you, unless your spouse receives SSI. Exact disregard amounts: UNVERIFIED.
Wisconsin treats the tiers differently, and this surprises families. QMB is never retroactive; coverage starts the first day of the month after the agency approves you, so there is no back payment for premiums or cost sharing already paid.
SLMB, SLMB+, and QDWI can be backdated to months before the application month, and the state’s own program pages say Medicaid will pay Part B or Part B-ID premiums for that earlier window. One catch: you cannot get backdated SLMB for a month in which you would have been income-eligible for QMB. Exact backdate length: 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 Wisconsin SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
Wisconsin Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Getting into any Wisconsin Medicare Savings Program automatically makes you “deemed” eligible for the full Medicare Part D Extra Help subsidy, also called the Low-Income Subsidy. You do not file a second application for Extra Help.
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The state reports your enrollment to CMS, and the Social Security Administration and CMS handle the deeming from there; if you are not already in a Part D plan, CMS can assign you to one. Wisconsin’s Part D help line, run by the Board on Aging and Long-Term Care, is 855-677-2783 if the subsidy does not appear at the pharmacy.
Wisconsin Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
Yes. Wisconsin runs SeniorCare, formally the SeniorCare Prescription Drug Assistance Program, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services under a federal Medicaid demonstration waiver. — Wisconsin runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask The Medicare Savings Programs are Medicaid benefits, so Medicare does not take the application. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the Wisconsin Medicare Savings Program
Where: The Medicare Savings Programs are Medicaid benefits, so Medicare does not take the application. — application. Free help: Wisconsin’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program is delivered through the Medigap Helpline, operated by the Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long-Term Care, an agency independent of any insurance company..
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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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
- Wisconsin Medicare Savings Programs
- The Medicare Savings Programs are Medicaid benefits, so Medicare does not take the application.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Wisconsin 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.