Important Information for People Losing Automatic Extra Help This Year
More Medicare beneficiaries will lose their automatic eligibility for Extra Help this year due to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians losing Medicaid during the unwinding of the COVID-19 continuous eligibility protections. A significant portion of those who lost Medicaid this past year are people with Medicare. Impacted Medicare beneficiaries will get grey notices from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this month or next telling them that their Extra Help will end December 31, 2024. Anyone who lost Medicaid before July 1, 2024, will no longer automatically qualify for Extra Help after this year.
People getting this notice should complete the application that comes with the notice and submit it to the Social Security Administration. Although they are losing their automatic eligibility for Extra Help, many people may meet the income and resource limits to continue qualifying for the Extra Help next year and simply need to apply for it. People can also apply for Extra Help online at www.ssa.gov. No supporting documentation is needed – if SSA has any questions or needs more information to process the application, they will contact the Medicare beneficiary to request information.
As a reminder, people who get any help from Medicaid automatically qualify for Extra Help for the entire calendar year. If someone is getting any help from Medicaid at any point between July 1st and December 31st, their automatic eligibility is active for the current calendar year and automatically gets renewed for the entire next calendar year. Automatic Extra Help eligibility is good for the entire calendar year – it doesn’t end immediately at the same time someone’s Medicaid eligibility ends.
Pennsylvanians aged 65 and older may be able to qualify for PACE or PACENET. Older adults, especially those who are losing Extra Help and do not meet the income or resource limits to qualify for Extra Help after this year, are encouraged to apply for PACE or PACENET. PACE/PACENET can help to limit how much people pay for their medications. PACE/PACENET works with someone’s Medicare prescription drug plan, or it can be someone’s only drug coverage. Applying is quick and easy and can be done over the phone, online, by email or mail. Income guidelines are generous – the income limit for a single person is $33,500 and $41,500 for a married couple. Eligibility is based on the previous year’s income and resources are not considered. More information about PACE/PACENET can be found here.
People who need help applying for Extra Help or PACE/PACENET can contact PA MEDI at 1-800-783-7067.
