California Medicare

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.

The Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program helps people with low income pay their Part B premiums. For SLMB, your monthly income cannot exceed $1,040 if you are single and $1,400 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, your monthly income cannot exceed $1,170 if you are single and $1,575 got couples.

Medicare Insurance Part D plans for 2010 will include Aetna Medicare Rx premier, 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.