2011 Income Levels for Medicare Savings Programs

The federal government recently released the official federal poverty levels or “FPLs” for 2011. These income levels are key in two areas of Medicare. Here we discuss their effect on the Medicare Savings Programs, sometimes abbreviated as “MSP.” These are discussed in full beginning on page 16 of Managing Your Medicare. A separate posting will be made of the other key area, the Low Income Subsidy for Part D, also known as “Extra Help.”

Remember that you apply for the Medicare Savings Programs with your state’s Medicaid program, and that the resources you are permitted to have and still qualify have not changed in many years and are usually shown as $6,600 for an individual and $9,910 for a couple, but there are many exceptions and disregards both for resources, and for the income limits given below.

As the new income limits are different in both Alaska and Hawaii from the rest of the United States, in makes sense to give the 2011 income limits in three separate segments, as follows:

For the lower 48 states and the District of Columbia:

For the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium, your annual deductibles and your Part B coinsurances), your income must be at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $10,890 annually, or $908 monthly.
For a couple, $14,710 annually, or $1,226 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $3,820 annually, or $318 monthly.

For the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium), your income must be at or below 120 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $13,068 annually, or $1,089 monthly.
For a couple, $17,652 annually, or $1,471 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $4,584 annually, or $382 monthly.

For the Qualified Individual (QI) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium), your income must be at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $14,702 annually, or $1,225 monthly.
For a couple, $19,859 annually, or $1,665 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $5,157 annually, or $430 monthly.

For the Qualified Disabled & Working Individuals (QDWI) program (which pays your Part A monthly premium), your income must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $21,780 annually, or $1,815 monthly.
For a couple, $29,420 annually, or $2,452 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $7,640 annually, or $637 monthly.


For Alaska:

For the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium, your annual deductibles and your Part B coinsurances), your income must be at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $13,600 annually, or $1,133 monthly.
For a couple, $18,380 annually, or $1,532 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $4,780 annually, or $398 monthly.

For the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium), your income must be at or below 120 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $16,320 annually, or $1,360 monthly.
For a couple, $22,056 annually, or $1,838 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $5,736 annually, or $478 monthly.

For the Qualified Individual (QI) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium), your income must be at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $18,360 annually, or $1,530 monthly.
For a couple, $24,813 annually, or $2,068 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $6,453 annually, or $538 monthly.

For the Qualified Disabled & Working Individuals (QDWI) program (which pays your Part A monthly premium), your income must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $27,200 annually, or $2,267 monthly.
For a couple, $36,760 annually, or $3,063 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $9,560 annually, or $797 monthly.


For Hawaii:

For the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium, your annual deductibles and your Part B coinsurances), your income must be at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $12,540 annually, or $1,045 monthly.
For a couple, $16,930 annually, or $1,411 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $4,390 annually, or $366 monthly.

For the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium), your income must be at or below 120 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $15,048 annually, or $1,254 monthly.
For a couple, $20,316 annually, or $1,693 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $5,268 annually, or $439 monthly.

For the Qualified Individual (QI) program (which pays your Part B monthly premium), your income must be at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $16,929 annually, or $1,411 monthly.
For a couple, $22,856 annually, or $1,905 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $5,927 annually, or $494 monthly.

For the Qualified Disabled & Working Individuals (QDWI) program (which pays your Part A monthly premium), your income must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is now:

For an individual, $25,080 annually, or $2,090 monthly.
For a couple, $33,860 annually, or $2,822 monthly.
For each additional person in a family, add $8,780 annually, or $732 monthly.



Note on resources: Technically, the resource limits for these programs are $4,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a couple, but because of disregards and exceptions, they are usually shown as $6,600 and $9,910, respectively. Again, the best advice is, because of disregards and exceptions, not to speak of differing states’ interpretations and waivers, if a beneficiary is ANYWHERE near the income and resource limits, they should apply for these programs.