Extra Help is a Medicare program that helps people with limited income and resources pay for Part D (prescription drug) coverage. If you have full Medicaid, get SSI, or a Medicare Savings Program pays your Part B premium, you get Extra Help automatically.
What matters most
What Extra Help does
Extra Help helps pay for Medicare drug coverage (Part D) if your income and resources are limited.
Some people get it automatically
You get Extra Help automatically if you have full Medicaid, get SSI (Supplemental Security Income), or have a Medicare Savings Program that pays your Part B premium.
How to apply
If you don't get it automatically, you can apply for it yourself.
Want the detail? How it works, a worked example and common mix-ups are in .
Words on this page
Extra Help
a program that helps you pay for Medicare drug coverage if your income and resources are limited
Part D
Medicare's prescription drug coverage
Medicaid
a state-and-federal program that helps with health costs for people with limited income
SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
monthly payments from Social Security for people with limited income and resources
Who can answer for your situation
You can apply for Extra Help through Social Security, and your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can help you apply for free.
Even with the yearly drug cap, Extra Help can lower your day-to-day drug costs.
Who can get Extra Help
Extra Help is for people with limited income and resources. It helps pay the costs of Medicare drug coverage.
Some people qualify automatically: those with full Medicaid, those who get SSI, and those in a Medicare Savings Program that pays their Part B premium.
In most cases, your income and resources must be below a certain limit to qualify. These limits may go up each year.
How to apply
If you don't get Extra Help automatically, you can apply for it. Your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can help you apply for free.
An example
Say you already have full Medicaid. You get Extra Help automatically, and it helps pay the costs of your Medicare drug coverage.
Common mix-ups
These are the pairs people most often mix up.
Extra Help vs. Medicare Savings Programs
Extra Help and Medicare Savings Programs are different but connected. If a Medicare Savings Program pays your Part B premium, you get Extra Help automatically.
Getting it automatically vs. applying
Some people get Extra Help automatically, with full Medicaid, SSI, or a Medicare Savings Program. If you don't get it automatically, you apply for it.
If you sign up for Part B late and didn't qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, or go without Part D or other creditable drug coverage, you could owe a penalty. It's added to your monthly premium. It's not a one-time fee, and you usually keep it for as long as you have that coverage.
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Can I trust this?
Checked by TapTap. Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources it quotes, on September 28, 2026.
Checking compares each fact with the official source it quotes. It isn’t medical or legal advice.
"Extra Help" is a Medicare program to help people with limited income and resources pay Medicare drug coverage (Part D) premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and other costs.
Checked September 27, 2026
2 What the source says · Who gets Extra Help automatically?
You'll get Extra Help automatically if you get: Full-benefit Medicaid coverage Help from your state paying your Part B premiums (from a Medicare Savings Program ) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments from Social Security
Checked September 27, 2026
3 What the source says · If you don't get Extra Help automatically, you can apply for it
If you don't get Extra Help automatically, you can apply for it: Apply for Extra Help You can also contact your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to get free help applying.
Checked September 27, 2026
4 What the source says · Who should apply for Extra Help?
In most cases, to qualify for Extra Help, you must have income and resources below a certain limit. These limits may go up each year.
Checked September 27, 2026
Something look wrong?
If something here doesn’t match what you’ve been told, please check with 1-800-MEDICARE, and let us know through our Contact page.
General education, not individualized advice. For your own situation, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).
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