If your Medicare premiums and bills feel like more than your budget can carry, there may be help you haven’t heard of. Medicare Savings Programs quietly pay those costs for people with limited income — and many who qualify never apply.
What a Medicare Savings Program does
A Medicare Savings Program (MSP) is run by your state Medicaid agency — in Utah, through the state Medicaid office. Depending on which one you qualify for, it can pay your Part B premium, and sometimes your Part A premium, deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. That’s real money back in your pocket each month, especially with the standard Part B premium at $202.90.
There are three main programs, plus one for certain working people with disabilities. They sound like alphabet soup, but the differences come down to two things: how much they pay, and the income limit to qualify.
The three main programs
- QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary) pays the most. It covers your Part A and Part B premiums and your Medicare deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. Providers also can’t balance-bill QMB members for Medicare cost-sharing.
- SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary) pays your Part B premium only.
- QI (Qualifying Individual) also pays your Part B premium only, but it’s funded first-come, first-served. You reapply each year, and you can’t have full Medicaid at the same time.
There’s also QDWI, which helps certain working people with disabilities pay their Part A premium. That one applies to a smaller group, so most readers will focus on the three above.
2026 income and resource limits
The table below shows the 2026 federal baseline figures. Treat them as a starting point — they update periodically, and Utah Medicaid makes the final call (the state may not count some of your income).
| Program | What it pays | Monthly income (single) | Monthly income (married) |
|---|---|---|---|
| QMB | Part A & B premiums + deductibles, coinsurance, copays | $1,350 | $1,824 |
| SLMB | Part B premium only | $1,616 | $2,184 |
| QI | Part B premium only | $1,816 | $2,455 |
All three programs share the same resource limits: $9,950 for a single person and $14,910 for a married couple in 2026. Resources generally mean things like bank accounts and investments — your home and your car typically don’t count.
A helpful detail: notice that the income limit climbs as the help narrows. If your income is a little too high for QMB, you may still qualify for SLMB or QI. So even if one program is out of reach, it’s worth seeing whether another fits.
If you’re trying to figure out where your numbers land, our Eligibility Calculator can give you a quick read, and the Cost Estimator can show what your Medicare costs might look like with and without help.
A bonus most people miss: Extra Help
Here’s something worth knowing. When you enroll in any Medicare Savings Program, you automatically qualify for Extra Help — the program that lowers your Part D prescription drug costs. You don’t file a separate application for it; signing up for an MSP starts it for you.
That means one application can lower both your Medicare premiums and your drug costs at the same time. For a closer look at how QMB, SLMB, and QI compare side by side, see our guide on QMB vs. SLMB vs. QI.
How to apply in Utah
You apply through Utah Medicaid, the state agency that handles these programs. It’s free, and you don’t need to wait for a special enrollment window. The biggest reason people miss out isn’t that they don’t qualify — it’s that they never apply, often because they assume they earn too much or that the process is complicated.
If you’re close to the limits, apply anyway. The worst outcome is a no, and the best outcome is hundreds of dollars a year you no longer have to spend.
A gentle next step
These programs exist for exactly this reason — to make Medicare manageable for people doing their best on a fixed income. If you’d like a hand checking which one might fit, reach out for a no-pressure conversation. There’s no cost to ask, and no obligation to do anything but get your questions answered.