Extra Help and Medicare Savings Programs in Colorado

Coloradans with limited income can get help with Medicare costs from two sources. Medicare Savings Programs, run by Health First Colorado through the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), can pay your Part B premium (QMB, SLMB and QI-1), your Part A premium (QMB and QDWI), and at the QMB level your Medicare deductibles and coinsurance. In 2026 the QMB limit is $1,350 a month for one person, and the SLMB and QI-1 programs reach $1,816. Extra Help, run by Social Security, lowers Part D premiums and copays for people with income below $23,940 single in 2026. If you qualify for QMB, SLMB or QI-1, you automatically qualify for Extra Help.

Colorado Medicare Savings Programs

Colorado offers four Medicare Savings Programs. These are the monthly income limits HCPF publishes for 2026. Income from work is counted in a way that can let you qualify above these numbers.

The 2026 resource limits

You also need countable resources under a limit. HCPF raised the 2026 limits for QMB, SLMB and QI-1 to $11,450 for one person and $17,910 for a married couple, effective January 1, 2026 (HCPF memo OM 25-078). QDWI stays at $4,000 and $6,000.

Countable resources include checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds and money in an IRA, annuity or trust. They do not include your home, one car, a burial plot, up to $1,500 set aside for burial expenses, furniture, or household and personal items.

A worked example: a single person in Brighton on $1,500 a month

Here is how the rules play out for one person, using 2026 limits. Say you live alone in Brighton, your only income is $1,500 a month from Social Security, and you have $6,000 in savings. This is an illustration; your county makes the actual decision.

• QMB: $1,500 is above the $1,350 limit, so QMB is out.
• SLMB: $1,500 is under the $1,616 limit, and $6,000 is under the $11,450 resource limit, so you likely qualify. SLMB pays your Part B premium: $202.90 a month, about $2,435 a year in 2026, and that money shows up in your Social Security deposit once the state starts paying.
• Extra Help: SLMB approval qualifies you automatically. You would pay no Part D deductible, and in 2027 no more than $5.80 for a generic or $14.40 for a brand-name drug. For 2027, two Colorado standalone basic plans, Wellcare Classic and Humana Basic Rx Plan, have premiums below the $18.36 low-income subsidy amount, so your premium in either would be $0. Only basic plans qualify for that; an enhanced plan such as Wellcare Value Script ($5.30) is not fully covered.
• Added together, the help is worth well over $2,400 a year before counting any drug savings.

What QMB does that the others do not

QMB is the most complete program. Besides premiums, it pays Medicare deductibles and coinsurance, and providers who accept Medicare may not bill a QMB member for Medicare cost-sharing on covered services. If you have QMB, use doctors who accept both Medicare and Health First Colorado, and show both cards at every visit.

SLMB, QI-1 and QDWI pay premiums only. You remain responsible for deductibles and coinsurance, and these programs do not give you Health First Colorado medical benefits. QI-1 is approved one year at a time, so reapply when your county asks.

Extra Help with Part D drug costs

Extra Help, also called the Low-Income Subsidy, helps pay Part D premiums, deductibles and copays. According to Social Security, in 2026 you may qualify with annual income below $23,940 for one person or $32,460 for a married couple living together, and resources below $18,090 single or $36,100 married. Those resource limits include an allowance for burial expenses.

Since 2024 there is no partial Extra Help: everyone who qualifies gets the full benefit. That means no Part D deductible and low fixed copays. In 2026 the copays are up to $5.10 for generics and $12.65 for brand-name drugs; for 2027, CMS raises them to $5.80 and $14.40, and lower for some people with full Medicaid (CMS CY2027 Rate Announcement).

For 2027, two of Colorado's standalone Part D plans have premiums below the $18.36 low-income subsidy amount, Wellcare Classic and Humana Basic Rx Plan, so people with Extra Help pay $0 in premium for them (CY2027 CMS Landscape file). Wellcare Value Script ($5.30) also costs less than $18.36 but is not on this list because it is an enhanced plan: Extra Help only pays the part of an enhanced plan's premium that covers basic Part D benefits, so only basic plans at or below the $18.36 amount are guaranteed to be $0 with full Extra Help. In other plans, Extra Help pays up to $18.36 a month and you pay the rest.

Documents to bring to your county application

• Your red, white and blue Medicare card and a photo ID.
• Your Social Security benefit letter for this year, and statements for any pension, annuity or other income.
• Recent statements for checking, savings, retirement and investment accounts.
• Proof you live in Colorado, such as a utility bill or lease, if your ID shows an old address.
• Any health or drug insurance cards you have now, including a Medicare Advantage or Part D card.
• If you are still working, recent pay stubs.

How to apply in Colorado

• Medicare Savings Programs: apply through your county Department of Human Services. For most of Brighton that is Adams County Human Services; the part of Brighton in Weld County uses the Weld County Department of Human Services. You can also apply online through Colorado PEAK or call the Health First Colorado Member Contact Center at 1-800-221-3943 (State Relay 711).
• Extra Help: apply with Social Security online at ssa.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at a local office. Approval for QMB, SLMB or QI-1 qualifies you automatically.
• Use your full legal name and make sure your name and date of birth match Social Security records exactly. HCPF notes that mismatches can delay the state paying your Part B premium.
• Have recent proof of income, bank statements and your Medicare card ready before you apply or call.

Does the state take money back from my estate?

Since 2010, federal law has not allowed states to recover the help a Medicare Savings Program gives with Medicare premiums, deductibles and coinsurance from your estate. That worry should not stop you from applying for QMB, SLMB or QI-1.

Estate recovery can apply to other Health First Colorado benefits for people 55 and older, such as nursing home care and home and community-based services. If you are applying for full Health First Colorado, ask your county or HCPF how the rules apply to you.

Medicare Savings Programs and a Medicare Supplement

If you get QMB, it pays the Medicare deductibles and coinsurance a Medigap policy would cover, so many people find a supplement no longer needed. Federal rules let you suspend a Medigap policy for up to 24 months after you become eligible for Medicaid, so you can restart it if you lose that help. Ask your insurance company about suspension before you cancel.

SLMB and QI-1 pay only the Part B premium, so a supplement can still be worth keeping for the 20 percent coinsurance and hospital costs. Colorado has no birthday rule, so if you drop a Medigap policy, getting a new one later may involve health questions.

Where to apply and get help near Brighton

What I check for you, and what to ask

When income or savings look close to the limits, this is what I go through with you before we compare any plan, because a program can change which plan makes sense:

• Your monthly income against the 2026 HCPF limits for QMB, SLMB and QI-1, and your savings against the $11,450 single or $17,910 couple resource limits in HCPF memo OM 25-078.
• Whether you already get Extra Help: your Part D plan or Social Security letter will say, and approval for QMB, SLMB or QI-1 brings it automatically.
• Whether a Medigap policy you pay for would duplicate what QMB covers, and whether it can be suspended rather than canceled.
• Which 2027 Part D plans have a $0 premium with full Extra Help: in Colorado, Wellcare Classic and Humana Basic Rx Plan, the two basic plans below the $18.36 low-income subsidy amount (CMS CY2027 Landscape). Wellcare Value Script costs less too, but as an enhanced plan it is not guaranteed to be $0 with Extra Help.
• Questions to ask the county: Has my application been received? Which documents are still missing? From what month will the state start paying my Part B premium? Will you send the approval letter to me as well as to Social Security?

What changes in your Medicare choices

Qualifying for help opens more options. People with Extra Help or a Medicare Savings Program get a Special Enrollment Period to change drug coverage, and people with full Health First Colorado can look at dual-eligible Special Needs Plans: Adams County has 19 for 2027. Our Medicare and Health First Colorado guide explains how the two programs work together.

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The bottom line

If your monthly income is under about $1,816 single or $2,455 married, check the Colorado Medicare Savings Programs: the state may pay your $202.90 Part B premium, and QMB pays your Medicare cost-sharing too. Apply for Extra Help if your income is under $23,940 single: it removes the Part D deductible and caps copays. It costs nothing to apply, and for a single person on $1,500 a month the savings can top $2,400 a year. We are glad to help you see whether you might qualify.