HoosierRx: Indiana's Medicare Part D Premium Help (2026)

HoosierRx pays up to $70 a month in 2026 toward the Medicare Part D premium for Indiana residents 65 and older. The help is premium-only, so HoosierRx won't touch your deductible or your copays, and it works only if your drug plan comes from one of a short list of participating companies. The 2026 HoosierRx income limit is $23,940 a year for a single or widowed person and $32,460 for a married couple living together.1

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What HoosierRx Pays, and What It Won't
• Do You Qualify for HoosierRx?
• The Participating-Plan Rule Is Where Applications Get Stuck
• How HoosierRx Fits With Medicare Part D
• Does HoosierRx Open a Special Enrollment Period?
• How to Apply for HoosierRx
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What HoosierRx Pays, and What It Won't

HoosierRx is, in the state's own words, "Indiana's State Pharmacy Assistance Program." It is run by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, specifically by the agency's Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning, which administers Indiana's Medicaid programs and lists HoosierRx among its program areas.1

The benefit is narrow and easy to state. HoosierRx pays up to $70 per month in 2026 toward your monthly Medicare Part D premium, or toward the prescription drug portion of the premium on a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage. Indiana is direct about the limit: HoosierRx cannot provide assistance with other prescription drug costs, such as deductibles and co-pays.1

That shape matters when you're deciding whether to bother applying. If the monthly premium is the line item straining your budget, the help lands exactly where you need it. If your problem is a high deductible or expensive brand-name copays, HoosierRx is not the tool for that job, and Medicare Extra Help, which helps with Part D premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription co-payments, is the better place to start.2

Do You Qualify for HoosierRx?

Indiana sets four HoosierRx requirements: you must be an Indiana resident, be aged 65 years or older, have an annual income under 150% of the federal poverty level (an extra $20 per month of income is disregarded), and hold a Medicare Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, from one of the participating companies.1

There is also an exclusion worth checking first, because it disqualifies people who assume they're a natural fit: if you are on Medicaid, you are not eligible for HoosierRx.1

The income test is the one to run the numbers on. Indiana publishes the 2026 HoosierRx dollar limits, and they line up exactly with 150% of the federal poverty guidelines that the Department of Health and Human Services issues each January.1

Both 2026 HoosierRx income limits, $23,940 for a single or widowed person and $32,460 for a married couple living together, are exactly 1.5 times the matching federal poverty guideline for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.1

If your income is close to the line, apply anyway and let the program run the arithmetic. HoosierRx disregards an extra $20 a month of income when Indiana applies the 150% test, and the difference between "just over" and "just under" is not something to guess at from a Social Security statement.1

The Participating-Plan Rule Is Where Applications Get Stuck

Age, residency, and income are the tests people expect. The fourth is the sharpest practical hurdle: a 65-year-old Indiana resident well under the HoosierRx income limit still gets nothing unless their drug plan comes from a HoosierRx participating company.1

And here the state's own paperwork disagrees with itself. Indiana's 2026 HoosierRx brochure names four participating companies, AARP/United HealthCare, CIGNA, Aetna/SilverScript and WellCare; the HoosierRx program page names all four and adds a fifth, Elixir/EnvisionRx.1

Neither document is a safe basis for a decision about your own coverage. Call HoosierRx at 866-267-4679 and confirm your specific plan before you switch anything or turn down other help.1

How HoosierRx Fits With Medicare Part D

HoosierRx does not replace a drug plan. It sits on top of one, and federal Medicare regulation sets the frame that state programs like it operate in.

Part D always pays first. Under 42 CFR 423.464(b), "a Part D plan is always the primary payer relative to a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program," and the coordination rules in that subpart don't change which payer is primary.3 HoosierRx is built on that assumption: holding a Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan is a condition of getting the help, not an alternative to it.1

State money is what defines the category. Federal rule at 42 CFR 423.464(e)(1) defines a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program, and the definition "excludes State Medicaid programs, section 1115 demonstration programs, and any other program where program funding is from Federal grants, awards, contracts, entitlement programs, or other Federal sources of funding."3 That is the federal line between this kind of state help and Medicaid. Indiana draws its own line on the member side: Medicaid enrollees aren't eligible for HoosierRx.1

Payments from a qualifying state program count toward your Part D out-of-pocket total. Under the federal definition of incurred costs at 42 CFR 423.100, costs paid "under State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (as defined in § 423.464)" count among your incurred costs when Medicare decides whether you've reached the annual out-of-pocket threshold.4 That treatment turns on the federal definition, and no federal source used for this guide names HoosierRx as a program meeting it, so treat the question as open and put it to HoosierRx when you call. Either way, Indiana says HoosierRx can't assist with deductibles and co-pays, so what the program does for you shows up on the premium bill rather than at the pharmacy counter.1 If the pharmacy counter is where your money goes, read our guide to the Medicare Part D out-of-pocket cap alongside this one.

For the wider picture of how states do this and how their programs differ, see our national guide to state pharmaceutical assistance programs.

Does HoosierRx Open a Special Enrollment Period?

If your current plan isn't from a participating company, joining HoosierRx means changing plans, and the timing rules deserve a careful read. Whether Indiana's HoosierRx carries a Part D special enrollment period for its members is a question to put directly to the program when you call 866-267-4679, along with the plan check above.1

The rule you would be asking about is federal, and it is written for a category rather than for a named state program. 42 CFR 423.38(c)(17) gives a person who belongs to a qualified State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program a Part D special enrollment period, and the wording is specific: under that rule the individual "is eligible to make one enrollment election per year."5 For a HoosierRx applicant, that single election is the one that would move you onto a participating company's plan, so settle the plan question before you use it. The same regulation, 42 CFR 423.38(c)(17), keeps the special enrollment window open for an additional two calendar months after someone loses eligibility for a state pharmaceutical assistance program, counted from the month of the loss or the month of notification, whichever is later.5

How to Apply for HoosierRx

Indiana keeps the application short, and there are two ways in.

1. Online. The HoosierRx application is hosted at hoosierrx.fssa.in.gov.1
2. By phone. Call HoosierRx at 866-267-4679 with questions or for help getting started.1

Before you apply, gather three things: your annual income figure, the name of your Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan, and your Medicare number. The plan name is the one that decides whether the rest of the application matters, so confirm it against the participating list first.

Two other pieces of help are worth lining up in the same week. Medicare Extra Help is a separate federal program that lowers Part D costs, and you apply for it through the Social Security Administration rather than through Indiana.2 A counselor at Indiana's State Health Insurance Assistance Program can compare plans with you for free, and the counseling is unbiased;6,7 our guide to free Medicare counseling explains how that works.

Learn More

Find personalized help sorting out HoosierRx and your Medicare Part D coverage in Indiana 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.