Mississippi Medicare Savings Programs 2026: QMB, SLMB & QI

Mississippi Medicare Savings Programs pay some or all of your Medicare costs, and Mississippi applies no asset test to any of them, so your monthly income, not your savings, decides if you qualify. The broadest program, QMB, covers the Part B premium and every Medicare deductible, coinsurance, and copay.

What Are Medicare Savings Programs?

Medicare Savings Programs are Medicaid-administered benefits that pay some or all of a low-income Medicare beneficiary's Medicare premiums and cost-sharing. QMB, SLMB, and QI are mandatory eligibility groups under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, meaning Medicaid in all 50 states and the District of Columbia must cover them.3

In Mississippi, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) certifies eligibility for all three programs, under Title 23 of the Mississippi Administrative Code.1

Those rules set each program's income test as a band of the federal poverty level (FPL): QMB at or below 100%, SLMB above 100% and up to 120%, and QI above 120% and up to 135%. The 2026 dollar limits below are the federal ones Social Security publishes, and each equals that FPL share plus $20, the monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) general income exclusion. That $20 is already built into the limits.1

QMB: Qualified Medicare Beneficiary

QMB is the most comprehensive of the three programs. It covers:

• The Medicare Part A premium (most beneficiaries have premium-free Part A after 40 or more work quarters)
• The Medicare Part B premium, which is $202.90 per month in 2026
• The Part A inpatient hospital deductible, which is $1,736 per benefit period in 2026
• The Part B annual deductible, which is $283 in 2026
• All Medicare coinsurance and copays on every Medicare-covered service4

2026 Mississippi QMB income limits: at or below $1,350 per month for a single person, or at or below $1,824 per month for a couple. These figures are 100% of the Federal Poverty Level plus the $20 general income exclusion. Mississippi applies no resource or asset test, so your savings and other property do not affect QMB eligibility.1

For a single Mississippi senior, QMB erases the full $202.90 monthly Part B premium and the $283 Part B deductible every year, along with the $1,736 Part A hospital deductible and every coinsurance charge Medicare would otherwise leave you to pay.4 Every QMB enrollee is also automatically deemed eligible for full Part D Extra Help.2

SLMB: Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary

SLMB covers one benefit: the Medicare Part B premium, which is $202.90 per month in 2026. Unlike a deductible, that premium is charged every month, whether or not you use any care.4

2026 Mississippi SLMB income limits: up to $1,616 per month for a single person, or up to $2,184 per month for a couple. As with QMB, there is no resource test.1

SLMB does not cover deductibles or copays. But for a beneficiary with limited medical claims, eliminating the Part B premium is the dominant cost saving. SLMB also triggers automatic Part D Extra Help, which caps drug copays at $5.10 for generics and $12.65 for brand-name drugs, with a $0 deductible and a $0 premium on a benchmark Part D plan.2

QI: Qualifying Individual

QI covers the Part B premium only, the same as SLMB, with a higher income limit: up to $1,816 per month for a single person, or up to $2,455 per month for a couple. There is no resource test.1

Two structural differences set QI apart from QMB and SLMB:

1. First-come, first-served. QI is not an entitlement. It is funded through a capped annual federal allotment, and federal law has states select QI applicants in the order they apply, with preference for people who had the help at the end of the previous year. Unlike QMB and SLMB, there is no enrollment guarantee, so apply early in the year. Once you are selected, you keep QI for the rest of that year as long as you still qualify.5
2. Mutually exclusive with full Medicaid. Anyone otherwise eligible for Medicaid under Mississippi's state plan, such as full Aged, Blind, and Disabled Medicaid, cannot simultaneously be on QI. Those individuals are instead QMB Plus, SLMB Plus, or Other Full-Benefit Dually Eligible, all categories that carry full Medicaid benefits.3,6

Like SLMB, QI enrollment triggers automatic Part D Extra Help.2

Mississippi Applies No Asset or Resource Test

The federal standard resource limit for QMB, SLMB, and QI in 2026 is $9,950 for one person or $14,910 for a couple, though federal rules let states raise or drop it, and some have.4 Mississippi does not use one at all.

Mississippi's resource rule (Title 23, Part 103, Rule 1.8) puts it in one line: under liberalized policy, the Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, and QI) have no assets test.1

In practice, that means your bank balances, retirement and investment accounts, a second vehicle, or a second home have no bearing on whether you qualify. Your monthly income is the financial test. A Mississippi senior who assumed a modest nest egg or a paid-off home would disqualify them should apply anyway, because in Mississippi it will not.

Don't confuse this with Mississippi Medicaid for nursing-facility or home and community-based waiver care, which does count assets: its resource limit is $4,000 for an individual.7

The QMB Billing Prohibition

Federal law (Section 1902(n)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act) prohibits any Medicare provider or supplier, including a pharmacy, from billing a QMB enrollee for Medicare cost-sharing.8 This applies to Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage providers alike, whether or not they accept Mississippi Medicaid.9

If you are a QMB enrollee and receive a bill for a deductible, coinsurance, or copay on a Medicare-covered service, do not pay it. You have no legal obligation to pay it, and if you already paid, you have the right to a refund.8 The one bill that can still come is a small Medicaid copayment, if one applies.9

If you receive such a bill:

• Tell the provider you are enrolled in QMB and cite the federal balance-billing prohibition.
• Show both your Medicare card and your Medicaid or QMB card, or a Medicare Summary Notice showing you are in the QMB program.9
• If the billing continues, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Medicare can confirm your QMB status and ask the provider to stop billing you and refund what you paid.8
• Contact the Mississippi State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) at 1-844-822-4622 for free help with the bill.10

Part D Extra Help / Low-Income Subsidy

Every QMB, SLMB, and QI enrollee in Mississippi is automatically deemed eligible for full Part D Extra Help, the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS). No separate application is required.2

Under the 2026 Part D Extra Help benefit structure, full-subsidy enrollees pay:

• $0 Part D premium on a benchmark plan
• $0 annual deductible
• No more than $5.10 per generic prescription
• No more than $12.65 per brand-name drug
• $0 once out-of-pocket drug costs reach the $2,100 out-of-pocket threshold2

Mississippi Medicare Savings Programs: 2026 Income Limits at a Glance

These income limits are 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (QMB), 120% (SLMB), and 135% (QI), each plus the $20 general income exclusion. None of the three programs has a resource or asset test in Mississippi.1

How the Income Disregards Work

If your gross Social Security income looks a little above a limit, don't rule yourself out yet.

The $20 general income exclusion is already built into the published limits above, so compare your income to them as written. Those are federal limits, and Social Security notes that states can effectively raise them by disregarding certain amounts or types of income. Its instruction to its own staff is to encourage anyone whose income looks somewhat higher than the limits to apply anyway.1 Because Mississippi applies no resource test, the financial question that decides eligibility is where your countable monthly income lands, and DOM is the one that decides it. Apply before concluding you do not qualify.

How to Apply for Mississippi Medicare Savings Programs

Determination Timeline and Effective Dates

Federal rules (42 CFR Section 435.912) give a state Medicaid agency no more than 45 days to decide an application that is not based on disability, except in unusual circumstances such as a delay on the applicant's side.11

• QMB: Mississippi's rule starts QMB eligibility on the first day of the month after the month DOM approves you.1 Federal law makes QMB coverage prospective only, applying to services after the month DOM makes its decision, so apply as early as possible.12
• SLMB and QI: Mississippi's retroactive-eligibility rule says Medicaid coverage for any of the three months before the month you apply may be available if you got medical care before applying. It also says QMB has no retroactive coverage, and a QMB enrollee cannot be placed in SLMB or QI to get Part B premiums paid for those months.1 The federal effective-date rule in the Social Security Act names only QMB, so ask DOM whether earlier months can apply to your SLMB or QI application.12

For full Medicaid, coverage reaching back to the third month before the application month, for covered services you received while eligible, is the federal default, and a state's own window can be shorter under an approved Section 1115 demonstration. Federal law also shortens that general window to two months for most applications made on or after January 1, 2027. Confirm with DOM how far back your own coverage can reach before you count on it.3

Where to Get Help

Learn More

Find personalized help applying for Mississippi Medicare Savings Programs at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.