What you need to know ...

You can still sign up for a Medicare Prescription Drug plan and pay no penalty for 2006 if you qualify for extra help with Medicare prescription drug costs. Medicare beneficiaries eligible for the extra help have a special enrollment period that allows them to enroll in a plan between May 15 and December 31. Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for the extra help if they have limited income and resources. The extra help can increase your cost savings by paying for part of the monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments under the new prescription drug program. The extra help could be worth an average of $3,700 per year.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-173), enacted December 8, 2003, requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to undertake a number of additional Medicare-related responsibilities. SSA and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are working together to provide persons with limited income and resources extra help paying for their prescription drugs. Social Security's role in this partnership is to help the public understand how they may qualify and apply.

Apply Online:

• See if you qualify for help with Medicare prescription drug costs.

• Apply for help with Medicare prescription drug costs.

Whether you're filing on your own behalf or helping someone file the application, submit the Internet application to us right away to avoid delaying the extra help.
 

Sample: Application for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, SSA-1020. Instruction sheets are available in 15 different languages to help you understand the English application. The instructions are to be used as guides and cannot be used as applications. Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese

The actual applications are available only in English and Spanish. You must complete either an English or Spanish scannable paper application or you can apply online (English only).

• Review of Your Eligibility For Extra Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs Begins August 2006: Some Things You Should Know, Publication No. 05-10111 (English, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese PDF)

• Help Available To Pay Costs Of Medicare’s New Prescription Drug Program—Act Now! 2006, Publication No. 05-10129 (English and Spanish PDF) (Alternative Formats)
  

• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Life Insurance: Face And Cash Values, Publication No. 05-10108 (English, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese PDF) (Alternative Formats)
  

• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Income And Resource Limits 2006, Publication No. 05-10115 (English, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese PDF)

• What You Need To Complete The Application For Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs 2006, Publication No. 05-10124 (English and Spanish PDF)
  

• What You Need To Complete The Application For Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs 2006, Publication No. 05-10128 (English, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese PDF) (Alternative Formats)
  

• Need Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Costs? 2006, Publication No. 05-10015 (English and Spanish PDF)
  

• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Information For State And County Legislators, Publication No. 05-10012 (English and Spanish PDF)

• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Information For American Indians And Alaska Natives 2006, Publication No. 05-10013 (English PDF)

• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, When Someone Pays Your Household Expenses, Publication No. 05-10094 (English and Spanish PDF)
  
  
• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Information For Medicare Beneficiaries With Disabilities 2006 Publication No. 05-10118 (English and Spanish PDF)
  
  
• Getting Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Information For Someone Who Cares For Or About A Medicare Beneficiary 2006, Publication No. 05-10104 (English and Spanish PDF)
  
  
• Your Right To Question The Decision On Your Application For Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, Publication No. 05-10144 (English and Spanish PDF)
  
  
• What You Should Know About The Medicare Prescription Drug Plans: Qualify For Extra Help And Pay No Penalty In 2006, Publication No. 05-10126 (English and Spanish PDF)
  

Informational Video about Help Available to Pay Costs of Medicare's New Prescription Drug Program
 

Although Social Security determines entitlement to Medicare benefits, the Medicare program is administered by a different agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). There also is a Medicare Web site. You can call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to speak to a Medicare Customer Service Representative. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

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