The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2015 low-income premium subsidy amounts (or Benchmark) for Medicare Part D plans on July 31, 2014.
The benchmark is the
maximum monthly premium that will be paid by CMS for persons qualifying
for "Extra Help." If a person receiving the low-income subsidy (LIS)
enrolls in a Medicare Part D plan that has a premium higher than the
subsidy amount listed below for their state, the beneficiary is
responsible for paying the difference in premium.
You can click
on the premium subsidy for your state to see the plans for the selected
year qualifying for the $0 premium (2015 plan information available
starting October 1, 2014).
Update: 2016 Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) Benchmark Premiums are now online.
| Region | State(s) | 2015 Subsidy |
2014 Subsidy |
2013 Subsidy |
2012 Subsidy |
2011 Subsidy |
2010 Subsidy |
2009 Subsidy |
2008 Subsidy |
2007 Subsidy |
2006 Subsidy |
| 1 | NH, ME | $29.60 | $27.78 | $33.49 | $31.18 | $28.90 | $26.96 | $28.12 | $30.64 | $30.72 | $36.09 |
| 2 | CT, MA, RI, VT | $29.65 | $27.99 | $31.35 | $32.04 | $33.66 | $34.57 | $31.74 | $29.17 | $27.35 | $30.27 |
| 3 | NY | $36.94 | $37.23 | $43.22 | $39.79 | $38.69 | $33.32 | $27.71 | $24.18 | $24.45 | $29.83 |
| 4 | NJ | $37.64 | $37.10 | $37.04 | $36.00 | $35.74 | $35.01 | $30.99 | $31.23 | $28.12 | $31.37 |
| 5 | DE, DC, MD | $30.61 | $32.34 | $34.96 | $34.57 | $34.28 | $33.71 | $30.85 | $30.78 | $29.65 | $33.46 |
| 6 | PA, WV | $33.91 | $35.50 | $36.57 | $34.32 | $34.07 | $32.09 | $29.23 | $26.59 | $28.45 | $32.59 |
| 7 | VA | $29.47 | $29.34 | $30.06 | $30.95 | $33.25 | $34.15 | $31.72 | $31.03 | $30.52 | $34.42 |
| 8 | NC | $29.34 | $28.28 | $32.04 | $33.00 | $34.87 | $34.90 | $33.45 | $33.43 | $32.13 | $36.30 |
| 9 | SC | $28.78 | $33.87 | $38.75 | $36.15 | $36.90 | $35.02 | $32.01 | $31.12 | $31.41 | $34.88 |
| 10 | GA | $26.47 | $29.32 | $34.22 | $31.18 | $32.83 | $29.62 | $29.16 | $30.04 | $31.07 | $33.15 |
| 11 | FL | $25.83 | $22.13 | $24.76 | $23.82 | $25.41 | $27.45 | $21.47 | $19.16 | $22.63 | $29.07 |
| 12 | AL, TN | $30.20 | $29.67 | $33.69 | $31.71 | $33.72 | $30.73 | $29.80 | $28.29 | $29.60 | $32.33 |
| 13 | MI | $31.46 | $32.46 | $34.18 | $34.37 | $34.71 | $34.92 | $32.08 | $30.49 | $30.79 | $33.22 |
| 14 | OH | $28.64 | $28.93 | $29.87 | $29.41 | $29.67 | $30.47 | $28.40 | $26.82 | $28.51 | $30.69 |
| 15 | IN, KY | $31.79 | $34.95 | $37.22 | $35.92 | $36.44 | $35.75 | $33.95 | $33.50 | $32.42 | $35.69 |
| 16 | WI | $35.32 | $37.03 | $38.25 | $36.67 | $36.96 | $38.20 | $38.15 | $31.03 | $29.67 | $31.27 |
| 17 | IL | $28.23 | $28.59 | $30.94 | $30.23 | $30.65 | $31.59 | $30.18 | $30.26 | $29.66 | $31.60 |
| 18 | MO | $28.28 | $31.21 | $34.59 | $32.05 | $34.92 | $40.01 | $31.89 | $26.71 | $27.88 | $31.37 |
| 19 | AR | $24.76 | $30.03 | $34.15 | $31.62 | $32.12 | $28.48 | $26.89 | $27.69 | $30.51 | $35.45 |
| 20 | MS | $29.33 | $30.56 | $34.56 | $33.40 | $33.01 | $33.02 | $31.53 | $31.35 | $31.70 | $36.39 |
| 21 | LA | $31.28 | $31.75 | $37.33 | $35.01 | $34.75 | $31.32 | $27.48 | $24.62 | $28.45 | $34.14 |
| 22 | TX | $27.31 | $27.73 | $31.83 | $29.99 | $30.48 | $27.53 | $25.36 | $25.01 | $26.93 | $31.68 |
| 23 | OK | $29.97 | $30.18 | $32.80 | $31.53 | $33.62 | $32.31 | $29.36 | $28.04 | $30.35 | $35.13 |
| 24 | KS | $30.32 | $34.21 | $36.04 | $36.67 | $36.94 | $35.77 | $33.66 | $30.62 | $30.56 | $33.44 |
| 25 | IA, MN, MT, ND, NE, SD, WY | $30.00 | $32.23 | $34.61 | $36.02 | $37.47 | $37.55 | $33.19 | $30.61 | $29.50 | $33.11 |
| 26 | NM | $21.19 | $19.92 | $22.54 | $21.27 | $22.62 | $21.42 | $20.55 | $19.28 | $22.72 | $25.95 |
| 27 | CO | $28.93 | $26.90 | $31.92 | $32.38 | $32.85 | $30.99 | $30.17 | $24.59 | $27.37 | $28.92 |
| 28 | AZ | $32.89 | $27.49 | $29.41 | $26.84 | $27.34 | $24.75 | $16.22 | $15.92 | $21.37 | $24.62 |
| 29 | NV | $24.25 | $22.78 | $20.35 | $22.97 | $30.06 | $27.31 | $20.20* | $16.64 | $20.56 | $23.46 |
| 30 | OR, WA | $33.81 | $34.82 | $37.46 | $36.45 | $35.30 | $35.60 | $31.76 | $30.19 | $28.71 | $30.60 |
| 31 | ID, UT | $39.74 | $39.02 | $42.15 | $40.86 | $40.68 | $40.89 | $37.46 | $33.53 | $31.77 | $33.62 |
| 32 | CA | $28.84 | $28.10 | $29.88 | $30.86 | $32.35 | $28.99 | $24.86 | $19.80 | $21.03 | $23.25 |
| 33 | HI | $27.91 | $25.69 | $33.33 | $30.41 | $29.76 | $25.55 | $25.01 | $24.32 | $26.35 | $27.44 |
| 34 | AK | $32.86 | $37.07 | $34.71 | $36.46 | $36.89 | $38.00 | $36.00 | $36.42 | $33.56 | $34.66 |
*Note: The 2009 low-income benchmark premium amount calculated for region 29 is $19.68. The low-income premium subsidy amount of $20.20 is the lowest monthly beneficiary premium for a PDP that offers basic coverage in region 29. Section 1860D-14(b)(3) of the Social Security Act states that the low-income premium subsidy amount is the greater of the lowest monthly beneficiary premium for a PDP that offers basic coverage and the low-income benchmark premium amount.