Help with Medicare costs may be available based on your income and resources. In 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month, and prescription drug plan costs vary. Extra Help and Medicare Savings Programs can reduce eligible costs. To understand the starting amount, see how the Medicare Part B premium works. Comparing your monthly premium with the costs of using your coverage helps you plan a workable budget. Our guide explains how much Medicare costs per month. Below, we explain what each assistance program helps pay, how the programs differ, and where to apply. The Jordan Insurance Agency can help you understand which next steps fit your situation.

The two kinds of help, in plain English

There are two separate programs, and they cover different pieces of the bill:

  • Extra Help (the Low-Income Subsidy, or LIS) — a federal program that lowers your Part D prescription drug costs: the drug plan premium, the deductible, and your copays at the pharmacy.
  • Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) — state-run programs, administered in North Carolina through NC Medicaid, that help pay your Part B premium — and, in the most generous version, your deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments too.

You can qualify for one, the other, or both. And here is a detail many people miss: enrolling in QMB, SLMB, or QI automatically qualifies you for Extra Help with your drug costs. One application can unlock both.

Extra Help: lower prescription drug costs

Extra Help is run at the federal level and applies to Medicare Part D drug coverage. When you qualify, your drug plan premium, deductible, and copays can be greatly reduced. That help stacks on top of a protection every Part D enrollee already has: in 2026, Part D out-of-pocket drug costs are capped at $2,100 for the year, after which you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year. Extra Help matters because Original Medicare on its own does not cover most prescriptions — see our guide to whether Medicare covers prescription drugs.

Who gets it automatically

You are enrolled in Extra Help automatically — no separate application — if you have any of these:

  • Full Medicaid benefits
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • A Medicare Savings Program (QMB, SLMB, or QI — covered below)

How to apply if it is not automatic

If you don't qualify automatically, you can apply for Extra Help through Social Security, online, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at a local Social Security office. In 2026, the limits are $23,940 a year in income and $18,090 in resources for one person.

Medicare Savings Programs: help with the Part B premium and more

These three programs are run through your state Medicaid agency — in North Carolina, that means NC Medicaid. Each state sets its own income and resource limits, and they change yearly, so confirm the current North Carolina figures with NC Medicaid or Medicare.gov before assuming you do or do not qualify.

QMB — Qualified Medicare Beneficiary

The most generous of the three. QMB helps pay your Part A and Part B premiums AND your deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. Providers generally cannot bill a QMB member for those Medicare cost-shares — which can effectively wipe out most of your out-of-pocket exposure for covered care.

SLMB — Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary

SLMB helps pay your Part B premium only — not deductibles or coinsurance. The income limits sit somewhat higher than QMB, so people who earn a little too much for QMB may still fit SLMB. With the 2026 standard Part B premium at $202.90 a month, that is over $2,400 a year back in your pocket.

QI — Qualifying Individual

QI also pays the Part B premium only, for people whose income is just above the SLMB level. Two things to know: QI is first-come, first-served each year, and you must reapply annually. You generally cannot get QI if you also qualify for other Medicaid benefits. Because funding runs on a first-come basis, applying early in the year matters.

A fourth, less common program — QDWI, the Qualified Disabled and Working Individual program — helps certain working people with disabilities pay the Part A premium.

If you're on SSDI: help paying for Medicare under 65

If you have Medicare because of a disability, the same programs are open to you, with the same limits as people 65 and older. Under 65, they can matter even more, because Medicare Supplement options are limited in some states.

  • Part A usually costs nothing; Part B is the bill to tackle. With Medicare based on SSDI, Part A has no monthly premium. The 2026 standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, and a Medicare Savings Program can pay it.
  • Confirm the current Medicare Savings Program limits with your state. North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee administer their own programs, and income counting, resource rules and eligibility can differ. SSDI is generally considered when the state checks the income limit. Some income and resources aren't counted, so apply even if you think you're slightly over.
  • If you also get SSI, you get Medicaid automatically in all three states, and with it Extra Help and help with Medicare costs.
  • If you had Medicaid expansion in North Carolina while you waited for Medicare, it ends once Medicare starts. That's the time to apply for a Medicare Savings Program or check whether you qualify for full Medicaid with Medicare.
  • If you go back to work, Medicare can continue for at least 93 months after your Trial Work Period. If you later have to start paying for Part A because of work, the QDWI program can pay the Part A premium.

To apply, contact your state Medicaid agency: NC Medicaid through your county Department of Social Services, Healthy Connections in South Carolina, or TennCare Connect in Tennessee. Our page on having both Medicare and Medicaid has the details, and our guide to Medicare under 65 on disability covers the full timeline.

What if I qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid?

People who have both Medicare and full Medicaid are called dual eligible. Medicare generally pays first for Medicare-covered services. Medicaid may help with Medicare cost sharing and additional covered services, depending on your eligibility category and state rules. Dual-eligible North Carolinians may also have access to D-SNPs (Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans) — a type of Medicare Advantage plan built specifically for people with both programs, which can coordinate Medicare and Medicaid benefits through a single plan. Whether a D-SNP fits your situation depends on your Medicaid status and the plans available in Mecklenburg County, so it is worth a careful, individual review rather than a blanket answer.

How to apply in Charlotte and North Carolina

  • Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI): apply through NC Medicaid — in Charlotte, that runs through the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.
  • Extra Help: apply through Social Security at ssa.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at a local Social Security office (unless you qualify automatically through Medicaid, SSI, or an MSP).
  • Free counseling: North Carolina's SHIIP (Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program), run through the NC Department of Insurance, offers free, unbiased help with these applications.
  • Current income limits: because both the federal Extra Help limits and North Carolina's MSP limits change every year, ask a licensed agent at The Jordan Insurance Agency to review the current figures with you before ruling yourself out.

One honest note: many people assume they earn too much and never apply. The limits are higher than most expect, resources like your home generally are not counted the same way as cash savings, and the worst outcome of applying is a "no." If money is tight, apply.

How The Jordan Insurance Agency helps

The Jordan Insurance Agency is an independent, full-time, licensed insurance agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, serving clients across the state. Because we are independent and work with multiple carriers, our job is to fit coverage to your situation — and that includes flagging when you may qualify for Extra Help, a Medicare Savings Program, or a D-SNP, and pointing you to the right application. Our agents complete annual AHIP and carrier certifications, carry errors-and-omissions coverage, and review your plan every year at renewal, so if your income situation changes, your coverage strategy changes with it. Best of all, our guidance costs you nothing: the carrier pays the agent, and your premium is the same whether you enroll on your own or with our help. If you are in Charlotte or anywhere in North Carolina and wondering whether help paying for Medicare is within reach, reach out to The Jordan Insurance Agency — we will walk through it with you in plain English.

Next step: Turning 65, or helping a parent sort out Medicare in Charlotte? The Jordan Insurance Agency is an independent, full-time agency that compares Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Part D options across multiple carriers — at no cost to you. Get honest, plain-English guidance. For coverage details, explore our Medicare guidance and plan support.