What is extra help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs?
Anyone who has Medicare can get Medicare prescription drug coverage. Some people with limited income and resources also are eligible for extra help to pay for the costs—monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments—related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. The extra help could be worth up to $4,000 per year. Many people qualify for these big savings and don’t even know it. To find out if you qualify, Social Security will need to know your income and the value of your savings, investments and real estate (other than your home). If you are married and living with your spouse, we will need information about both of you.
To help Social Security determine if you are eligible for the extra help, you will need to file an Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020). Most of the questions on the application deal with income and resource. We will not ask for documentation initially to support the information you provide, but we will match your information with data available from other federal agencies.
(Source: Social Security Administration: Understanding The Extra Help With Your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan publication 10508. Additional examples and links from Q1Group LLC)