Help Paying for Medicare in Texas

Medicare Savings Programs

These state-administered programs can pay your Part B premium, which alone is $202.90 a month in 2026, and depending on the program may also cover deductibles and coinsurance.

Eligibility depends on income and countable assets, and the limits change annually. Because Texas administers these programs, applications go through the state rather than directly through Medicare.

Extra Help for prescription drugs

Extra Help, formally the Low-Income Subsidy, reduces or eliminates Part D premiums and deductibles and caps what you pay per prescription. It is administered by Social Security.

Qualifying for a Medicare Savings Program automatically qualifies you for Extra Help, which is one reason applying for the first is worth doing even if you are unsure about the income test.

Why people miss these

There is no automatic notification. Someone whose income drops after retirement, or who is widowed, frequently becomes eligible years after enrolling in Medicare and never learns of it.

The asset tests also exclude your home and usually your car, which means people who assume they own too much to qualify often do qualify. It costs nothing to apply and find out.

Worth checking annually

Income and asset limits are adjusted each year, and your own circumstances change. A household that was over the limit two years ago may be under it now.

If you are helping an older parent in Texas with their coverage, this is one of the highest-value checks you can make on their behalf, and one of the least likely to have been done.

How these work in Texas

Texas has not expanded Medicaid, so the Medicare Savings Programs carry more weight here as the route to premium help for lower-income older adults. Applications for the Medicare Savings Programs go through the state, while Extra Help for prescription drugs is handled by Social Security, and the two use different forms and different offices.

Qualifying for a Medicare Savings Program automatically qualifies you for Extra Help, so the state application is usually the more efficient starting point. the Texas HICAP program offers free counseling and does not sell insurance, which makes it a useful first call.

Eligibility questions

Does my house count against me? Generally no. Your primary residence is typically excluded from the asset test, as is one vehicle, which is why many people who assume they own too much actually qualify.

What if I was denied before? Limits are adjusted annually and circumstances change. A denial two or three years ago says nothing about eligibility today, particularly after a drop in income or the death of a spouse.

Is there a cost to apply? No. Applications are free, and the Texas HICAP program counseling is free. The only cost of applying is the time it takes.

What each program actually pays

The Medicare Savings Programs come in tiers. The broadest pays your Part B premium plus Medicare deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. Narrower tiers pay the Part B premium only. Which tier you land in depends on income relative to the federal poverty level, so a modest difference in income can change what is covered rather than simply whether anything is.

Extra Help works separately and applies only to prescription drugs. At the full subsidy level it eliminates the Part D premium and deductible entirely and caps what you pay per prescription at a few dollars. For a Texas household taking several maintenance medications, that is frequently worth more per year than the Part B premium assistance is.

Because the two programs are administered by different agencies and use different applications, it is entirely possible to be receiving one and not the other without realising it. If you already have one, it is worth confirming the status of the other.