4 Low Income Assistance Programs For Health Care Costs

Illness and disease smacks our pocketbook pretty hard. Loss of time at work, copays at doctor offices, and prescriptions are just a few examples of the costs of getting sick. Serious, life changing diseases cost even more. Here are four financial assistance programs for people with low incomes.

4 Low Income Assistance Programs For Health Care Costs

1) Extra Help Paying For Medicare Prescription Coverage
You may qualify for "extra help" (the low-income subsidy) from Medicare to pay prescription drug costs if you have a yearly income below one of the following levels:

$15,600 for a single person and resources less than $11,990.
$21,000 for a married person living with a spouse and no other dependents and resources less than $23,970.

These amounts are for 2008. If you live in Alaska or Hawaii, or pay more than half of the living expenses of dependent family members, income limits are higher. For more information, go to the medicare website and look up the phone number to your state's Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

2) State Pharmacy Assistance Programs (SPAPs)
Several states have State Pharmacy Assistance Programs (SPAPs) that help certain people pay for prescription drugs. Each SPAP makes its own rules about how to provide drug coverage to its members. Depending on your state, the SPAP will have different ways of helping you pay your prescription drug costs. To find out about the SPAPs in your state, call 1 800 MEDICARE.

3) Medical Nutrition Therapy Services
In addition to diabetes self-management training, medical nutrition therapy services are also covered for people with diabetes or renal disease. To be eligible for this service, your fasting blood sugar has to meet certain criteria. Also, your doctor must prescribe these services for you. These services can be given by a registered dietitian or certain nutrition professionals. The services include the following:

An initial nutrition and lifestyle assessment;
Nutrition counseling (what foods to eat and how to follow an individualized diabetic meal plan);
How to manage lifestyle factors that affect your diabetes;
Follow-up visits to check on your progress in managing your diet.

Medicare covers 3 hours of one on one medical nutrition therapy services the first year you receive the service, and 2 hours of follow up each year after that. If your doctor determines there is a change in your diagnosis or medical condition that makes a change in your diet necessary, you may be able to get additional hours of medical nutrition therapy services.

Remember, your doctor must prescribe medical nutrition therapy services each year for Medicare to pay for the service.

4) Medicaid Programs For People With Medicare
State Medicaid programs help pay medical costs for some people with Medicare who have limited income and resources. People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid may get coverage for services that aren't fully covered by Medicare, such as nursing home and home health care.

States also have programs called Medicare Savings Programs that pay Medicare premiums and, in some cases, may also pay Medicare Part A and Part B deductibles and coinsurance.

More information is available at the website for medicare. The phone number for the State Medical Assistance (Medicaid) office for each state can be obtained by calling Medicare. Each state's SHIP can also provide more information.