Expand the Medicare Part D Extra Help program
PAN’s POSITION
The Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program—also known as Extra Help—should be modernized to increase enrollment and provide continuity for individuals from one year to the next.
Congress should modernize the Extra Help program to help more patients, eliminate cost-sharing for generic drugs, and ensure all eligible beneficiaries enroll in the program.
Why Congress should modernize the Extra Help program
The Extra Help program’s eligibility criteria require patients to have an income under 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Because the income limits are low, millions of Medicare beneficiaries who are economically insecure are ineligible for extra help with their out-of-pocket medication costs.
Eligibility must be expanded to include the Medicare beneficiaries living on the fringe of poverty.
Daniel Klein, PAN President and CEO
The program also requires cost sharing for generic drugs, and the application process is complicated, leaving many to miss out on support altogether. Specific efforts to ensure the program reaches the people who need it most are essential.
