California Medicare Plans

The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program helps you pay for some costs of Medicare such as Medicare Part A and B premiums, deductibles for both Part A and Part B, or co-insurance under both part A and part B. For QMB, your monthly income cannot exceed $867 if you are single and $1,167 if you are married.

In California, the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) service assists people with limited income who need help paying for Part B premiums. To qualify for SLMB assistance, you cannot earn more than $1,040 per month if you are unmarried and $1,400 if per month if you are married.

The Qualified Individual (QI) program allows for a higher income than both the SLMB and QMB programs and will help pay for Part B premiums. For QI, you cannot make over $1,170 monthly if you are single and $1,575 monthly for couples.
Medicare Insurance Part D plans for 2010 will include Humana PDP Complete, and Health Net Orange Option 1.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the average monthly Medicare Part D premium across the nation will increase to $46 or 14% above the 2009 national monthly premium average of $40. What does this mean for California residents? Costs could go up for all residents who are staying with the same plan. However, the coverage may change from 2009 to 2010, so although you are paying a higher premium, your coverage may not be the same. In California, nine plans qualified for the 2009 Low-Income Subsidy, but only six plans will qualify in 2010.

Luckily, there is time to switch your Medicare insurance plan for 2010 at no cost. The period of time during which this is possible is called Open Enrollment Period and it begins November 15. Before Open Enrollment begins, it is important to research plans available in your area. There is no need to attempt your research alone. For no cost, our Medicare specialists would be more than happy to inform you about available plans and help you decide which is right for your Medicare needs.

For city specific Medicare plans, visit:

Anaheim Medicare, Bakersfield Medicare, Fresno Medicare, Garden Grove Medicare, Sacramento Medicare, Long Beach Medicare, Los Angeles Medicare, Oakland Medicare, Oceanside Medicare, Ontario Medicare, Rancho Cucamonga Medicare, Riverside Medicare, San Diego Medicare, San Francisco Medicare, Santa Ana Medicare, Stockton Medicare, Chula Vista Medicare, Irvine Medicare, Modesto Medicare, Fremont Medicare, San Bernardino Medicare, Santa Clarita Medicare, Santa Rosa Medicare, Tallahassee Medicare, Glendale Medicare, Huntington Beach Medicare, Moreno Valley Medicare, Oxnard Medicare, Fontana Medicare, Pomona Medicare, Corona Medicare; Lancaster Medicare; Salinas Medicare; Palmdale Medicare; Pasadena Medicare; Hayward Medicare; Torrance Medicare; Escondido Medicare; Orange Medicare; Elk Grove Medicare; Sunnyvale Medicare; Fullerton Medicare; Thousand Oaks Medicare; El Monte Medicare; Concord Medicare; Visalia Medicare; Simi Valley Medicare; Vallejo Medicare; Inglewood Medicare; Victorville Medicare; Santa Clara Medicare; Costa Mesa Medicare; Downey Medicare; West Covina Medicare; Ventura Medicare; Fairfield Medicare; Norwalk Medicare; Burbank Medicare; Richmond Medicare; Daly City Medicare; Berkeley Medicare; Antioch Medicare