As an example of state plan changes, North Carolina will offer nine (9) LIS $0 premium qualifying 2020 Medicare Part D plans as compared to the seven (7) LIS-qualifying plans in 2019.
Alternatively, Ohio will be losing five LIS $0 qualifying Medicare Part D plan in 2020, so lower-income Ohio residents will only have access to two 2020 Medicare Part D plans qualifying for the state’s Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) $0 premium benchmark.
The state with the smallest selection of $0-premium LIS Medicare Part D plans is...
The state with the smallest selection of 2020 Medicare Part D plans qualifying for the LIS $0 premium will now be Ohio offering only two (2) LIS $0-premium qualifying Medicare Part D plans. In the past, Florida usually had the smallest number of LIS plans, however in 2020 Florida will add two (2) new LIS plan and will offer four (4) LIS $0-premium qualifying Medicare Part D plans.
The state with the largest selection of LIS-qualifying $0 premium Medicare Part D plans is...
The state offering the largest selection of $0 premium LIS plans will continue to be Arizona with 12 LIS plans.
The state with the largest number of LIS recipients is...
The state with the most Medicare beneficiaries qualifying for the low-income subsidy (LIS or Extra Help Program) is California (almost 1.6 million “Extra Help” recipients). In 2020, California LIS recipients will have eight (8) Medicare Part D plan choices qualifying for the $0 premium (up from seven LIS $0 premium Part D plans in 2019).
Which Medicare Part D plan providers are offering 2020 LIS-qualifying plans?
From our national stand-alone PDP-Facts page, here is a table showing a comparison of the 2019 and 2020 Medicare Part D plans qualifying for the $0 premium Low-Income Subsidy.
$0 Premium LIS Qualified stand-alone Medicare Part D Plans
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Please note, not all plans are available in every state.
Historical changes in the number of LIS-Qualifying Medicare Part D plans
A few more 2020 LIS $0 premium facts:
- Ohio is losing five (5) LIS $0 premium plans
- Maine and New Hampshire are losing one LIS $0 premium plan
- Thirteen (13) states have no change in the number of LIS $0 premium plans being offered
- Eighteen (18) states are gaining one LIS $0 premium plan
- Seventeen (17) states are gaining two LIS $0 premium plans
Which Medicare Part D plans qualify for the full Low-Income Subsidy $0 premium in your state?
Each year, insurance companies adjust their Medicare Part D plan premiums, and some Medicare Part D plans raise their premiums and move their prescription drug plans above the state low-income subsidy (LIS) benchmark limits, while other Part D plan sponsors lower their monthly premiums so that their plans can qualify for a state’s $0 premium.
This means that the number of Medicare Part D plans qualifying for the LIS $0 premium can change each year. Click on the 2020 premium for your state in our state low-income subsidy (LIS) benchmark limits article to see qualifying plans in your state.
More on Medicare Part D Extra Help
The Medicare Part D Extra Help or the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) is a federal program helping low-income Medicare beneficiaries pay a portion of their Medicare Part D prescription drug costs. Based on a person’s income and financial resources, the Extra Help or LIS program pays all or part of a person’s monthly Medicare Part D plan premiums and a significant portion of the beneficiary’s medication costs.
If you qualify for the full-LIS program, you can choose a Medicare Part D plan that qualifies for your state’s $0 monthly premium or allow yourself to be automatically enrolled in a plan that qualifies for the $0 premium. If you enroll in a Medicare Part D plan that does not qualify for the $0 premium, you will pay a portion of the premium. The monthly premium amount you will pay is shown under the "Benefit Details" button on our Medicare Part D plan finder.
As can be seen in the above graphic, if you qualify for only "partial-LIS benefits" (such as 50% LIS), you will also only pay a portion of the plan's monthly premium.
Please note, our Medicare Part D plan finder allows you to view the premiums of a Medicare Part D plan based on whether you receive full - or partial-LIS benefits.
The PDP-Finder.com feature looks like this:
The applicable monthly premium will be shown in the search results and can be found on our "Benefit Details" page, for example:
A Brief note about automatic plan reassignment and people who are "choosers"
Because of changes in the annual Medicare Part D plan premiums and state LIS benchmarks, some full low-income subsidy qualifying Medicare beneficiaries (such as people who are Medicare/Medicaid dual-eligible beneficiaries) may be automatically reassigned to new 2020 Medicare Part D plans that will still qualify for the $0 monthly premium.
However, Extra Help recipients who "chose" their own plan in the past (these beneficiaries are also referred to as "choosers") may not be auto-reassigned to a new 2020 LIS qualifying plan and may need to select a new 2020 Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage that still meets the $0 monthly premium threshold (or pay the small monthly premium). As reference, you can use our PDP-Finder to see LIS qualifying plans in your state. Be sure to select “Yes, show only plans that qualify for $0 premium". Click here to see an example for Texas.
Not sure where to begin?
For more information on Medicare Part D plans that qualify for your state's low-income $0 premium benchmark, please call Medicare toll-free at 1-800-633-4227 and speak with a Medicare representative to learn more about your Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan options.