Providing a little more ‘Extra Help’

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TISKILWA — Some more low-income individuals who need help paying for their Medicare prescription drug plan costs will get a little help after the first of the year.

On Monday, Megan Forristall, claims representative with the Social Security office, visited with seniors at the Tiskilwa Public Library to explain the new program and to answer a few Social Security questions.

“We’re going out in the areas to tell people about the changes that are going on,” Forristall said.

On Dec. 8, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 into law. In addition to giving seniors the option to buy prescription drug coverage, the Act also provided a low-income subsidy called “Extra Help” to help pay for some of the costs for people with low income and few assets. The Extra Help is estimated to be worth an average of $3,900 per year.

“’Extra Help’ for prescription drugs is a program by Social Security for people with limited income and resources to help pay the prescription drugs cost as far as co-pays and the monthly premium,” Forristall said.

To qualify for Extra Help in 2009, a person’s resources were limited to $12,510 for an individual or $25,010 for a married couple living together. Resources do not count an applicant’s house and car, but they do include such things as bank accounts, stocks and 401k accounts. Annual income was limited to $16,245 for an individual or $21,855 for a married couple living together.

However, many who needed the help failed to qualify because they had too many assets, so on July 15, 2008, Congress passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, which changed the asset threshold, as well as a few other things, for Low Income Subsidy applications filed after Jan. I, 2010.

“We’re no longer going to count any life insurance policy as a resource,” she said.

Previously, Social Security asked applicants the cash surrender value of any life insurance policies with a face value of more than $1,500.

“We don’t care anymore,” Forristall said. “We’re not going to look at life insurance at all.”

Social Security will also no longer count as income the help applicants receive regularly from someone else to pay household expenses such as food, mortgage or utilities.

“If a son or daughter pays a mortgage, pays electricity for you, something like that, we used to count that as income to you,” she said. “Starting as of Jan. 1, 2010, we’re no longer going to count that.”

The rules will apply only to those applications filed after Jan. 1, so Forristall said applicants who feel they will be affected should wait until that date to apply.

The third change is that Social Security will now automatically send an applicant’s information to the state’s programs which helps with other Medicare costs unless the applicant asks them not to.

Forristall said many people might not qualify for “Extra Help” because of their resources despite having a limited income. She said those people should check with the state to see if they qualify for Illinois Cares RX. Illinois requires everyone to apply for “Extra Help” in order to participate in state programs even if they know they won’t qualify.

Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.

For more information, go to the Social Security Web site at www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp/.

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